Switched
by sycoandcrazy-inc
Summary: Inuyasha Higurashi led a normal life, at least until his fifteenth birthday. On that day he got dragged down a magic well that deposited him five hundred years in the past by a freakish bug woman, and things only got weirder from there.
1. Chapter 1

The Boy Who Overcame Time

And the Girl Who Was Just Overcome

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned her head, but had no time to respond before the arrow pierced her shoulder and pinned her to the tree. Uncomprehending, she stared up at the face of the woman she had thought of as a best friend and almost sister. The woman's face was twisted with a loathing and hatred that Kagome had never expected to see on her.

"Kikyo?" Kagome whispered. "But I don't—understand."

Her consciousness slipped away from her, and Kagome's world faded into black.

* * *

Inuyasha Higurashi stepped out of his house and stretched in the fresh morning air. It was a perfect day, bright and sunny, the kind he liked best. Days like this got him itching to do something, anything, that would get his blood racing and his heart pounding. Inuyasha grinned as a breeze teased his shoulder length black hair. Days like this were made for adventures.

_And I have to waste it going to school._ His grin dropped and his shoulders sagged at the thought. It just didn't seem fair, especially since it was his birthday too.

"Later, Mom, later Gramps," he called over his shoulder. "I'm off!"

He'd only taken a few steps when the sight of Souta hanging out at the well house's doorway caught his eye. "Oi, brat!" Inuyasha called. "What are you doing over there? You know you're not allowed in the well house."

Souta sent him a pleading look. "But Inuyasha! I think Buyo is down there!"

Inuyasha sighed heavily and walked over to join his brother. "Then go get him. He shouldn't be down there either."

Souta gulped and eyed the dark staircase that lead into the shadowy recesses of the well house. "Why do I have to be the one to go get him?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and affectionately rapped the back of Souta's head with his knuckles. "'Cause you're the one looking for him, brat. But if you're too much of a scaredy cat, then I'll go instead."

Inuyasha tromped down the stairs, eyes roaming the shadows for a hint of Buyo. As much as Inuyasha liked the old cat, he could be a real pain sometimes.

_Skriiitch, skriiitch._

Inuyasha paused at the unexpected sound, like rats scampering around on wood. His scowl deepened and he crossed his arms over his chest. _Weird. That sounded like it came from inside the well._

But the well was sealed up, so there was no way that Buyo should be down there. The sound came again, raising the hair on the back of Inuyasha's neck. Something pressed against his leg and Inuyasha jerked away with a strangled gasp. Souta up at the top of the stairs fell back with a high pitched yelp.

"Meow."

Inuyasha felt his eyebrow twitch as he glared down at Buyo's serene expression. "Stupid cat," he grumbled picking him up off the floor.

"What was with freaking out like that, Mr. I'm-So-Brave?" Souta demanded pointing down at him.

Inuyasha glared up at him. "Says the brat who wouldn't even come down the stairs! And I wasn't freaking out!"

Before he could start back up the stairs there was a sharp crack of splintering wood, and a malevolent presence wrapped around Inuyasha, freezing him in place. _What is this?_

Souta's eyes widened in fear and Inuyasha felt a rush of wind at his back as the cover of the well burst open. Hands like vices grasped Inuyasha's arms as Buyo slid from his grip and dragged him back into the well.

The hands flipped Inuyasha around so he could see his attacker, and he found himself staring at a pair of large, bare breasts. This would have been the best moment in all his fifteen years of life if those breasts hadn't been attached to a body that also had six arms and the bottom half of a centipede.

"The jewel," the woman hissed with a strange, breathy voice. "You have it. Give it to me!" Her tongue, longer than humanly possible, snaked out of her mouth and licked his cheek. This contact finally snapped Inuyasha out of his shocked stupor.

"Get off me, you freak!" Inuyasha shouted. He lashed out with his fist, a solid punch that connected squarely with the bug woman's jaw. A brilliant pink light flashed and the woman shrieked with pain. When the light faded she was gone, and suddenly Inuyasha's feet were settling on the ground at the bottom of the well.

"The heck was that?" he asked out loud. Inuyasha rubbed his eyes. He could not have seen what he thought he just saw. Freakish bug women didn't exist! It was impossible. "Maybe I hit my head really hard when I landed." He glanced around and saw a pale woman's arm that was badly burned at the stump lying near him. Inuyasha gaped at the appendage for a moment. "Okay, maybe not."

But either way, the bug woman was gone now, and Inuyasha didn't feel like sticking around at the bottom of the well waiting for her to come back. Inuyasha tilted his head back and called, "Hey, Souta! Get Gramps for me!"

There was no reply, and Inuyasha blinked in surprise when he realized that where he should be seeing the wooden ceiling of the well house, he was staring up at blue sky. "But that doesn't make any sense!"

He shook his head. He'd figure out what was going on after he got out of the well, and apparently Souta wasn't going to be any help on that end. "Little brat. He probably ran away in fear or something."

There were vines growing down the inside of the well that Inuyasha could use to help pull himself up. As he was climbing, it occurred to him that there were no plants growing in the well house, so these vines really shouldn't be there.

"Worry about it after you get out," he muttered to himself.

Inuyasha made it to the top of the well and what he saw stunned him into silence. It wasn't just the roof of the well house that was missing; it was the well house itself, the shrine's courtyard, his house, everything. It was all gone. In its place was a vast forest.

"This is not happening," Inuyasha said, frantically searching for any familiar landmark. He caught sight of the Sacred Tree in the distance, and relief shot through him. "I'll be able to find my way home from there," he said shoving his way through the undergrowth of the forest to get to the tree.

When he finally made it to the miniature clearing that held the Sacred Tree, Inuyasha froze. Pinned to the tree by an arrow was a girl who looked to be about his age. She wore strange, old fashioned looking red clothes, and her long hair was a shimmering silver color. Matching silver dog ears sat on top of her head. Her expression was so peaceful that, if it weren't for the arrow, he would have thought she was only sleeping.

But she had a freaking _arrow_ sticking out of her!

Inuyasha rushed over, hopping up on some of the raised tree roots so he was level with the girl. He pressed his fingers to her neck searching for a pulse and felt panic rising when he couldn't find one. "Please don't be dead," he muttered. Even without a pulse, she didn't really feel dead. Her skin was still warm and soft. Inuyasha held his ears over her mouth, listening for her breath, but he couldn't hear that either.

Inuyasha swore. Warm body or not, he didn't see how she could still be alive since she didn't have a pulse and didn't seem to be breathing. "I need to get her down from here," he said and he reached out for the arrow that held her in place.

Arrows thudded into the tree beside him and Inuyasha flinched away. "Get away from there!" a man's voice yelled.

Inuyasha whirled around and saw six men with bows and arrows glaring at him. His fists clenched and his lips pulled back in a snarl as he stared at the bows. "Are you the scum that murdered this girl?" he snapped.

They didn't answer, but their glares intensified. "Get away from her, or we will shoot," said one man that was apparently the group's leader.

Inuyasha wanted nothing more than to pound the man's face into the dirt. How could they do that? Just murder this girl and then leave her hanging like some sort of twisted trophy? If they hadn't had arrows pointed at him he'd have done it too. He'd been taking martial arts classes since the time he could walk it seemed, and even at six on one odds Inuyasha was fairly confident that he could take them if they had been unarmed. But since they had bows, one of them was bound to shoot him before he could do any real damage. With no real alternative, Inuyasha stepped away from the tree.

One of the men rushed forward and tied Inuyasha's hands securely behind his back. The ropes weren't tied so tight as to be painful, but he definitely wasn't getting out of them on his own. The men shoved him forward, and the group walked in silence away from the tree.

After only a few minutes of walking they were out of the forest and approaching a small village. The sight was so unexpected that Inuyasha forgot his anger for a moment. The village was composed of a small grouping of thatched huts surrounded by rice paddies. All in all, it looked like a picture from a history textbook.

_What it this supposed to be? The Feudal Era?_

The thought made him glance around at his captors, and Inuyasha finally noticed how they all wore old fashioned clothes, and each had a topknot on their head.

_Oh. Oh crap._

This _couldn't_ be what he was thinking. It just couldn't. Time travel wasn't possible.

_Neither was that freaky bug woman, and she was definitely real._

And time travel would explain why his home and the entire city of Tokyo had disappeared. Matter of fact, if he really had gone back in time this tiny village was probably the start of Tokyo.

_But if I've really gone back in time, how do I get home?_

* * *

Kaede walked sedately through the crowd that had gathered around the stranger some of the villagers had captured in Kagome's Forest. Her good eye narrowed when she caught sight of the stranger for the first time. He was taller than her, with black hair that curled around the collar of his shirt. His clothes were strange, dyed black and made of a material she didn't recognize. They were far more fitted than anything Kaede was used to seeing. But the young man's most striking feature was his eyes. Dark purple, they flashed with an inner fire and defiance.

Kaede dipped the branch she carried in a mixture of purified water and salt and splashed it on him. "Demon, be gone!"

The boy flinched at the contact, but there was no sizzling like there should have been, nor did he drop his human guise as a fox demon playing a trick would have.

"Stop it, you old hag!" the boy snapped. "I'm not a demon!"

"So I see," Kaede said, lowering her branch. If the boy was a demon he should have been purified by the water.

"Is he a spy then?" one of the villagers asked.

"If so he's a foolish one," Kaede said. "There is nothing here worth conquering."

But there was something about the boy that seemed familiar. Not his looks; she'd never seen anyone that looked quite like him before. It was something about his expression and his spirit that tugged at old memories in her mind.

_Who is this boy?_

Kaede caught his chin in her hand so she could study him better. "Look clever boy, or be a halfwit," she said.

Anger flashed in his eyes and he tried to jerk away from her hand, only to be held in place by two of the village men. "Who are you calling a halfwit, hag?"

_There._

She could feel it in him, raw power, unused and untested. Kaede hadn't felt power like that in fifty years.

_Could this possibly be?_

"It's there, though I don't know what it means," Kaede said letting go of his chin. "What is your name, boy?"

"Inuyasha," he said.

"I am Kaede, the priestess of this village," she said.

His eyes narrowed. "Then are you the one who ordered that girl in the forest murdered?" he asked.

Kaede frowned. "In all my life, there has never been a murder committed in this village."

"Lady Kaede," said one of the villagers who had captured Inuyasha, "I think he is speaking of Kagome. He was by her tree when we found him."

Ah, that. To someone who didn't know the story, it probably would look like a murder. "That was no murder, and she is not truly dead," Kaede said. "If you will come with me, I will explain it to you."

Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay."

"Untie him please," Kaede said. Swiftly one of the villagers undid the ropes binding his hands. Kaede turned and started walking towards her hut. She didn't bother to see if Inuyasha was following. Already, her mind was fifty years in the past.

* * *

Inuyasha followed the old priestess back to her hut where she motioned for him to have a seat on the wooden floor. Inuyasha sat and watched as she started pulling out vegetables to chop for what looked like some sort of stew.

"Well?" Inuyasha asked as she remained silent. "What happened with that girl?"

"Kagome," Kaede said, "is a half-breed. She is half human, half demon. Fifty years ago, she attacked my village in search of the Shikon Jewel, which my elder sister was supposed to protect. In the battle that followed, my sister sealed Kagome to the tree with a sacred arrow, but she suffered her own mortal wound and died after doing so."

Inuyasha frowned. He vaguely remembered Gramps mentioning the Shikon Jewel in some of his ramblings, but he couldn't remember what was supposed to be so special about it. All in all, the priestess's story seemed outlandish to the point of ridiculousness.

_Then again, I'm the one who traveled through time. Guess I can't call anything impossible._

"She's seriously been stuck to that tree for fifty years?" Inuyasha questioned as Kaede poured the vegetables into her pot of stew.

"Indeed," Kaede said. "And should remain there for all time thanks to my sister's spell."

Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully. _She's not there in the future, so apparently she gets free at some point._

Well, he supposed it wasn't any of his business. Still. The girl's expression had been so peaceful, it was hard for Inuyasha to picture her attacking a village like Kaede said.

"Where do you come from, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

"Huh? Oh, Tokyo," Inuyasha said.

"Tokyo," Kaede said, carefully pronouncing the word. "I've never heard of it. Is it far?"

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, you could say that. I really need to be getting back."

_Although I've no idea how._

"The sun is already setting," Kaede said dishing him out a bowl of stew. "Stay here for the night and you may leave in the morning if you wish."

Inuyasha accepted the bowl gratefully as his stomach rumbled in hunger. He hadn't eaten since that morning. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

He took a bite and was surprised to find the old woman was actually a good cook. He dug into the food with gusto. Before he was even half finished with his bowl, there was a crash from outside, quickly followed by screams. Inuyasha started, dropping his bowl. "What was that?"

Kaede didn't answer as she was already rushing for the door. Inuyasha scrambled to follow her. When they got outside, his eyes widened.

_It's the bug woman!_

"Mistress Centipede!" one of the villagers yelled.

"Lady Kaede," another villager called running up to them, "we've tried arrows and spears, but nothing is working!"

Inuyasha watching in horror as her body twisted and lashed out, destroying another house. _This is my fault. I led her here._

Mistress Centipede's eyes landed on Inuyasha. "The jewel!" she hissed. "Give it to me!"

Kaede's one good eye bored into him. "The jewel? You have it still?"

"I don't know what she's talking about!" Inuyasha protested. But even so, it was his fault she was here. He had to do something. Too bad his martial arts classes had never covered fighting giant centipede women.

"I'll lead her away from the village!" Inuyasha called to Kaede and took off running back towards the forest. Just as he'd hoped, Mistress Centipede followed him.

_Great. I've got her attention, so now what? I could really use some help now!_

* * *

In Kagome's Forest, at the Sacred Tree, there was a pulse of power like a heartbeat.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

For the first time in fifty years, golden eyes blinked open. Slowly, Kagome lifted her head.

"Kikyo?" she whispered.

* * *

Inuyasha wasn't able to keep as much distance between himself and Mistress Centipede as he would have liked, but he'd made it out to the forest without her catching him. She lunged for him, hitting the ground just behind his feet. The impact caused a shower of earth that flung Inuyasha farther into the forest and landed him hard on the ground.

"You're not Kikyo! Who are you?"

Blinking, Inuyasha looked up and saw Kagome frowning down at him from where she was pinned on the Sacred Tree. "You're awake?" Was that supposed to happen? He didn't think so from what Kaede had said.

"Who are you?" Kagome repeated. "And why do you smell so much like Kikyo?"

"Inuyasha," he said getting to his feet. "And who the heck is Kikyo?"

Mistress Centipede burst through the trees, and Inuyasha whirled around, cursing himself for letting his guard down. His sensei would trounce him if he knew about the slip up.

"The jewel! Give it to me!" she screeched.

"You're starting to sound like a broken record, lady," Inuyasha said, backing away from her a few steps.

Moving with a speed that belied her size, Mistress Centipede lunged forward and snatched Inuyasha up off the ground. Bearing wicked looking teeth, she leaned down towards his struggling form.

"Get off of me!" he shouted, trying to twist out of her grasp. That pink light flared again like in the well, and the next thing Inuyasha knew he had fallen back to the ground, and Mistress Centipede was screeching over the loss of her remaining five arms.

_Did _I _do that?_

Kaede and some of the villagers rode up on horses and paused staring wide eyed at the scene. The villagers cried out in alarm.

"Kagome's awake!"

"Mistress Centipede's arms!"

"Look out, she's attacking again!"

Undeterred by the loss of her arms, Mistress Centipede shot down and her teeth sank into Inuyasha's side and threw him into the air.

Numbly, Inuyasha stared at a perfectly round pink jewel that flew in the air beside him. _That's the jewel? It was inside me?_

Then he hit the ground and pain lanced through his whole body radiating from the gash in his side. Before he could struggle to his feet, Mistress Centipede used her tail to trap him against the Sacred Tree, his face pressed into Kagome's stomach.

Mistress Centipede leaned down towards the jewel, and Kagome yelled, "Don't you dare touch that!"

Mistress Centipede paused and glanced over at them scornfully. "I had heard of a half-breed that was seeking the Shikon Jewel. What do you think you can do?"

Kagome's lips pulled back in a snarl revealing too sharp canine teeth, and her dog ears flattened back on her head. "Inuyasha," she said, "you think you can pull this arrow out of me?"

Inuyasha blinked, the pain in his side making it harder than usual to think. "What?"

"Pull the arrow out!" she snapped.

"No, Inuyasha!" Kaede shouted. "You must not free Kagome!"

"She's going to kill you!" Kagome yelled. "Let me help!"

Torn by indecision, Inuyasha watched as Mistress Centipede scooped up the jewel with her tongue and swallowed it. His eyes widened when her severed arms flew back to her body and reattached themselves. Her jaws opened wide, and her skin peeled away to reveal a hideous red and black under layer.

Inuyasha made a decision, and reaching up he grasped the arrow that held Kagome pinned. At his first tug, the arrow disintegrated into nothingness.

Without quite knowing how it happened, Inuyasha found himself sprawled on the ground again, Kagome facing off against Mistress Centipede a few feet away. "Insolent wretch," Mistress Centipede hissed.

Kagome flexed her fingers, bringing Inuyasha's attention to the wicked looking claws that tipped them. "Return the jewel!"

"Who will make me? You?" Mistress Centipede asked, and lunged for her.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

Kagome's movements were a red blur. Inuyasha didn't see exactly what Kagome did, but suddenly bloody chunks of centipede were falling to the ground. Inuyasha stared at Kagome in awe. Yes, she was a half demon, but Inuyasha still hadn't expected her to be so strong.

"Inuyasha, quickly," Kaede said. "Find the glowing flesh before she regenerates! That's where the jewel will be."

Inuyasha heeded her words. The last thing he wanted was to face Mistress Centipede again. "There!" he said pointing when he saw a faint pink glow coming from a hunk of flesh. "The jewel is there!"

Kaede moved quickly for someone her age, reaching into the flesh and feeling around for the jewel. Inuyasha almost gagged at the sight. He didn't consider himself a squeamish person, but that was just gross.

Kaede pulled the jewel out of the flesh, and Inuyasha blinked as Mistress Centipede's body disintegrated, leaving only the bones. She walked over to Inuyasha and dropped the jewel into his hands. "Here. This belongs to you now."

"Me?" Inuyasha said. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Nothing," Kagome said, stepping closer. "Humans can't use it. It's no good to you." She held out one of her dangerously clawed hands. "Why don't you just hand it over?"

Inuyasha stared at her and her determined golden glare. "Are you _freaking kidding_ me?"

* * *

AN: So this is my new, outrageous fanfic writing goal. I intend to rewrite the entire Inuyasha series using this plot thread. Just for clarification, I will be following the anime rather than the manga. But don't worry, this isn't going to be a carbon copy of the show. There will be changes, and they will snowball.

But since this is such a big thing to try and rewrite, I intend to post each season as it's own separate story. Also because this is such a big rewrite, none of the stories will be posted until they are complete. This means that season one is completely rewritten, however updates will still be every two weeks in order to give me some time to get to work on season two.

Last but certainly not least, it should be mentioned that the idea for this story was inspired by Sophie19114 and her story, A Twist in Reality. My story has been written and posted with her permission.

I hope you all enjoy, and that you'll stick around for the whole ride!


	2. Chapter 2

Seekers of the Sacred Jewel

_I guess I should have expected this, _Inuyasha thought as tension crackled through the air. _I mean, Kaede did say that Kagome attacked the village to get the jewel. If she's willing to attack a whole village, of course she's willing to fight me._

"You cannot have the Shikon Jewel!" Kaede said firmly.

Kagome glared at her defiantly, but then her nose twitched as she sniffed the air and her eyes widened in surprise. "Kaede?" Kagome's arms dropped to her side her head tilted in confusion. "Is that you? But how?"

_Or maybe she's not going to attack me?_ Which Inuyasha was okay with considering he was already injured, but he was getting mixed signals here and he really wanted to know what exactly was going on.

"You have been pinned to the Sacred Tree for fifty years," Kaede said. "I have aged in that time."

Kagome rocked back on her heels, apparently totally floored by the news that she'd basically been in a coma for fifty years. Despite knowing what she'd done to get the jewel in the past, when Inuyasha saw that look on her face, he couldn't help but kind of feel sorry for her.

"If it's been fifty years," Kagome said, "then is Kikyo…?" She trailed off, leaving her question unspoken. Kaede apparently understood what she meant though.

"My sister Kikyo died the same day she sealed you to the tree, killed by the mortal wounds you inflicted on her," Kaede said, narrowing her one good eye at Kagome.

_Wait, Kikyo. That's who Kagome said I smelled like…I do not smell like a girl!_ Inuyasha scowled and glared at Kagome, not that the girl took any notice of him. Inuyasha was really starting to feel like a third wheel in this conversation.

"That isn't possible!" Kagome said. "I never attacked Kikyo! I wouldn't! She was my friend! You know that, Kaede!"

"I know you pretended to be her friend," Kaede said without flinching. "I know that you betrayed her, killing her and attacking the village for the Shikon Jewel."

Kagome vehemently shook her head, silver hair whipping around her face. "No, you've got it all wrong!" She took a step towards Kaede, and every villager in the area pointed their bows at her. Kagome froze, and her gaze swept over the villagers' hard expressions. Her face crumpled, and suddenly she looked like she might cry.

_Oh, heck no! I am not dealing with a crying girl right now!_

"Hey," Inuyasha said, gaining everyone's attention. "I hate to interrupt, but I'm kind of bleeding out over here." He looked at Kagome. "Will you just promise not to try and steal the jewel until we get this mess sorted out at least?"

Swallowing her tears, she nodded. "I promise."

"Good," Inuyasha said. He turned to Kaede. "Can we please go back to the village so I can get bandaged?"

Inuyasha couldn't read Kaede's face, but she nodded. "Very well."

Some of the villagers stayed behind to deal with the body of Mistress Centipede, but most went back to the village. Kagome stayed off to the side, out of everyone's way, but she followed Inuyasha and Kaede to Kaede's hut and sat in a corner near the doorway while Kaede bandaged Inuyasha's side.

"So," Kaede said without looking up from her work, "you claim not to have attacked the village."

"Yes," Kagome said. "I want the jewel, but I don't want to hurt anyone to get it."

_Not what it looked like out in the forest._ Of course, Mistress Centipede had been trying to kill them, so Inuyasha couldn't blame her for that one.

"Then how is it that I saw you attack the village myself?" Kaede asked. "And how is it that Kikyo named you as her attacker?"

After a moment of silence, Kagome said, "I don't know. I don't have any idea who attacked you, or why they would pretend to be me. But it wasn't, I swear!"

Inuyasha glanced over at her and saw the earnestness in her big golden eyes. It was weird. Eyes like hers should have just seemed strange and alien. But looking at them now, she just seemed honest and sad.

"I believe you," Inuyasha said.

Kaede looked at him sharply. "Inuyasha, you mustn't trust what she says!"

"Look, I've met power hungry people before," Inuyasha said. Granted, the jerks he was thinking of from his school weren't likely to murder people for power, but that didn't mean they weren't power hungry still. "I can tell that Kagome isn't power hungry."

"There is no other reason to seek the jewel but power," Kaede said.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome. "Then why do you want to the jewel?"

Kagome glanced away to the side. "My reasons are personal." She met his gaze once more. "But I'm not after power."

"Okay, I believe that," Inuyasha said. Kaede snorted with disbelief and moved away from Inuyasha having finished bandaging his wound. "So, are you planning to steal it from me at some point?"

Kagome fidgeted. "I'd rather not," she said. "I don't like the idea of being a thief. Is there any chance you could give it to me?"

Inuyasha glanced down at the pink jewel in his hand, and for a moment he wondered if maybe he could. What was he supposed to do with it?

"What's the deal with this jewel?" Inuyasha asked. "What does it do that makes everyone want it so bad?"

"The jewel vastly increases the power of those who use it," Kaede said. "But it is easily corrupted, and it always does more harm than good. That is why it was under the care of my sister. Kikyo was to protect it from those who would misuse its power and keep its energies pure so that the jewel could cause no harm." She pinned Inuyasha with her gaze. "And that is why you must now keep it in your possession at all times, and never let anyone else take it, for you are Kikyo's reincarnation."

"Say _what_?" Inuyasha yelped.

"The fact that the jewel was inside you is proof enough," Kaede said, "but I have also sensed in you the same power that my sister had."

"That would explain why his scent is so similar to Kikyo's," Kagome mused.

Inuyasha stared at them incredulously. "I am not reincarnated from a _girl_!"

Kaede seemed amused at his outburst. "Do you really believe that gender matters to the essence of a soul?"

"It matters to _me_!" Inuyasha said. "I have never been a girl!"

"Whether you choose to accept it or not, you are Kikyo's reincarnation," Kaede said. "As such, the duty of protecting the jewel from all who would use it falls to you." Her gaze moved to Kagome. "Even those who claim they would not use it for ill."

"Fine," Inuyasha grumbled, his entire mood soured by the fact that Kaede insisted he'd been a girl in his previous life. He yawned suddenly, the day's events catching up with him.

"Go on to bed," Kaede told him. "We can talk more in the morning."

Tucking the jewel in his pants pocket for safe keeping, Inuyasha gratefully accepted the futon she provided, and in moments he was out like a light.

* * *

When Inuyasha woke the next morning, his whole body was stiff and sore. He sat up with a grunt, and wrinkled his nose when he smelled himself. Inuyasha didn't consider himself a fussy person, but he was covered in dried sweat, blood, and dirt from the day before. He might not be bad off by the standards of the Feudal Era, he wasn't sure, but by his standards, he definitely needed a bath.

Kaede was already up and dressed, getting breakfast together. "Good morning," she said.

"Morning," Inuyasha said. He glanced around the hut. "Where's Kagome?"

"I believe she was going to patrol the area around the village," Kaede said. "Now that the jewel has resurfaced, there will be many who wish to steal it."

"Can word about the jewel seriously get around that fast?" Inuyasha asked.

"You'd be surprised," Kaede said. She handed him a bowl of food.

"Thanks," Inuyasha said. "By the way, any chance I could get a bath this morning?"

Kaede nodded. "After breakfast I will show you the bathing area in the river."

It didn't take Inuyasha long to finish eating, so Kaede took him to the bathing area. It was a ways downstream, outside of the village.

_I guess they want to make sure they're not bathing in the same area of the river they get their drinking water from._

"You may wish to wash off your clothes while you're at it," Kaede said. "If you need anything, I won't be far."

The bathing area was actually a great swimming spot. A small cliff resulted in a waterfall, and the area beneath the waterfall was more like a pond than a river, before the water flowed out and farther away. Without hesitating, Inuyasha stripped down and waded in. The water was cold, but it was a warm enough day that Inuyasha didn't mind at all.

"This feels nice," Inuyasha said, rinsing away the dirt and grime that he'd accumulated. As he washed, Inuyasha's thoughts turned towards home. _Mom and Gramps must be worried sick._

They wouldn't have any idea what had happened to him. Sure, Souta had seen him get dragged down the well, but somehow Inuyasha doubted that his mom or Gramps would believe Souta's story. Heck, Inuyasha probably wouldn't believe this whole situation if he wasn't living it.

"I wonder," Inuyasha said, "falling down the well is what brought me back here. Is it some kind of time machine or something? Maybe if I jump down it again I'll end up back home."

It might not work, but it was the only idea Inuyasha had. Eager to give it a try, Inuyasha waded out of the water. As he reached for his clothes, Kagome suddenly landed in front of him.

"Inuyasha, why are you—eek!" Kagome yelped and whipped around so her back was to him. "Pervert! Why are you naked?"

Face burning, Inuyasha scrambled to put his clothes on. "You're the pervert! I was taking a bath! What are you even doing here?"

"I'm here because you left the village with the jewel!" Kagome said. "That's dangerous! You can't just go off with it by yourself. What if you were attacked?"

Irritated, Inuyasha stalked by her. "I'm not helpless you know."

"Right," Kagome said, following him. "You were a ton of help fighting Mistress Centipede."

Inuyasha bristled at her tone of voice, and at the reminder of how helpless he'd been the night before. Inuyasha hated feeling helpless. "Would you just leave me alone?" he snapped. "It's not like you care. You're just worried about your stupid jewel!"

"That's not true," Kagome protested.

"Of course it is," Inuyasha said. "The jewel is the only reason you're sticking near me, and it's probably the only reason you hung around that Kikyo chick."

Kagome's head snapped back like he'd slapped her, and for the first time she looked well and truly angry. "Idiot! You don't know _anything_!" She turned and dashed off into the trees, gone from Inuyasha's sight in seconds.

Inuyasha winced, knowing his words had been uncalled for; how many times in the past had his temper gotten him in trouble? It wasn't Kagome's fault she was stronger than him. _What would Mom say if she'd seen that?_ He cringed as he imaged the disappointed look she'd surely wear. He also knew she'd order him to apologize for his words.

Inuyasha's pride bucked at the thought. The only thing he hated almost as much as feeling weak was having to apologize. But, as a friend frequently told him, if he didn't like to apologize then he shouldn't lose his temper.

Swearing under his breath, Inuyasha stomped off in the direction Kagome had gone. Hopefully she wouldn't be too hard to find. He hadn't gone far when some men stepped out the bushes in front of him, blocking off his path. They were rough looking men, dirty and dressed in old, rusty armor. They fanned out in front of him, and Inuyasha took a step back, distrusting them on sight.

"So, this is the guy Boss wanted us to catch," one of the men said. "Don't know why. He don't look special."

"Orders is orders," another man said. "Now, we can do this easy, or we can do this hard."

Inuyasha smirked and cracked his knuckles. "You guys are just in time. I needed someone to vent my frustrations on."

One of the men lunged at him, but Inuyasha ducked under him and then hit the man with a spinning kick to the head. He dropped like a ton of bricks.

_One down, four to go._

Two came after him at once them, but Inuyasha easily dodged their blows. They might have been bandits, but given their skill level they couldn't have been very successful at it.

Inuyasha caught an incoming punch and threw the bandit into one of him companions. "At least give me a challenge!" Inuyasha said.

The last two decided to grant his wish and drew their swords. Inuyasha wasn't worried. If they were as good at fighting as their friends had been, swords wouldn't do them any good.

Bellowing their war cry, the two bandits charged at him. Inuyasha waited until they were almost close enough to stab him and then jumped up into the air, flipping over their heads so he landed behind them. Unable to slow their momentum in time, the two bandits ran straight into a tree.

Eying the unconscious bandits, Inuyasha grinned. "I think Sensei would be proud of this."

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha turned in surprise to see Kagome running up to him. "I heard fighting! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Inuyasha said. "I handled it."

Kagome blinked in surprise as she took in the sight of the unconscious bandits. "I can see that."

Then Inuyasha remembered why he'd wanted to find Kagome. "Hey," he said, "I wanted to apologize for earlier. What I said…Well, it was stupid, and I shouldn't have said it."

Kagome looked surprised at his words, and then her expression softened. "Thanks," she said. "And I'm sorry about what I said too." She nudged one of the bandits with her toes. "You were obviously right; you're not helpless."

Inuyasha smirked, feeling more than a little pleased with her words.

"We should head back to the village," Kagome said. "They were probably after the jewel."

Inuyasha sighed. "It's just so weird for so many people to fight over a piece of rock."

Kagome looked away, and Inuyasha belatedly realized that his words may have been insensitive, since she wanted the jewel too. _I wonder why she wants it so badly._ Inuyasha didn't press the issue though. She'd already said her reasons were private, and he didn't like to pry.

They made it back to the village and found Kaede. Inuyasha quickly warned her there were bandits lurking nearby.

"If they waited until you were alone to attack, then they probably won't attack the village," Kaede said. "But I think this is a sign that we should begin your training immediately."

"My training?" Inuyasha asked blankly. When had he agreed to that?

"Yes, your training," Kaede said. "When trained properly, your spiritual powers will prove very dangerous to demons. But if they are not trained, they will be useless to you."

"My spiritual powers," Inuyasha said. "You mean like that thing I did to Mistress Centipede? I could learn how to do that whenever I wanted?"

Kaede nodded gravely. "You could."

_Then I wouldn't need Kagome to protect me._

"Okay," he said eagerly. "Let's get started."

Kaede led him to a clear area towards the edge of the village where they wouldn't be disturbed. Kagome followed them, and jumped into a tree when Kaede had Inuyasha sit down. Inuyasha figured she was probably standing guard in case anyone attacked.

"We will start with meditation," Kaede said. "It is the easiest way to learn to access your power."

Inuyasha wasn't too surprised by that. His sensei always ordered a time of meditation before they began his martial arts training, so it was something Inuyasha was used to doing. With the ease gained by years of practice, Inuyasha shifted into the proper sitting position for meditation, closed his eyes, and began to take the proper breaths.

A few minutes into the meditation, Inuyasha heard Kaede speak. "Inuyasha, I want you to look inside yourself," she said, her voice calm so as not to break him out of his meditation. "Reach inward, feel for your power."

Inuyasha turned his mind inward, searching for that warm glow he had felt when he'd used his power against Mistress Centipede. The power rose to meet him, and in his mind's eye, Inuyasha could see the pink light of his spiritual power. He could feel it pushing and pulling at his senses, like waves on the ocean.

"I found it," he said.

"Good," Kaede said. "Now, try to guide it outside of yourself."

Inuyasha tugged at the power, but it pulled back, slipping away from him like water through his fingers. He tried again, with the same result. Inuyasha growled in frustration. It was _his_ power. Why couldn't he get it to do what he wanted?

"Enough," Kaede's voice said sharply, snapping Inuyasha out of his meditative state.

Inuyasha's eyes flew open, and he was surprised to see that it was already well past noon. He'd been working at his meditation for hours, though it had felt like mere minutes. But now that he was out of his meditative state, Inuyasha noticed how hungry he was, and how stiff his body felt from sitting still for hours on end.

"You did well today," Kaede said as Inuyasha stood and started stretching to work the stiffness out of his muscles.

"Well?" Inuyasha scoffed. "I never managed to get a hold of my power."

"No," Kaede said, "but you found it. That is more than most manage their first day of training." She eyed him speculatively. "How long have you been meditating?"

"I started martial arts training when I was four, and Sensei always makes us start training with meditation," Inuyasha said. "It comes pretty easily to me at this point."

"That will certainly benefit you in your training to become a priest," Kaede said. She stood. "Come, I will prepare us some lunch. Afterwards, I will begin teaching you how to use the bow."

"A bow?" Inuyasha asked. He hadn't seen that one coming.

"I know the staff is a more traditional weapon for a priest," Kaede said, "but I am not well versed in the art of fighting with a staff. However, I do know the bow, and you will need a weapon to help you in any fight against demons. No human can hope to take them in hand to hand combat, unless it is a very weak demon."

"Right," Inuyasha said.

_Geez, I never would have thought I'd have to end up worrying about being attacked by demons._ It probably never would have been an issue if he hadn't fallen through the well and come to the past.

_Which reminds me; I've got to try jumping down the well again to see if it takes me home._

But putting the attempt off for a few more hours wouldn't make a big difference. He'd wait until Kaede was done with her lessons for the day, and then he'd see about trying to get back home.

* * *

**Lord Destroyer**:I have not read Legend Becomes Reality, nor do I intend to do so. I'm sure it's a good story, but I don't want to read any other role reversal stories right now, because I don't want to run the risk of them influencing what I write. And no, I probably didn't need permission for this, but since I had read and reviewed the other story, it seemed like the polite thing to do. I hope you'll enjoy reading my version.


	3. Chapter 3

Yura of the Demon Hair

By the time that Inuyasha had finished his first day of training with the bow it had been time for dinner, so he'd figure he'd at least stay long enough to eat before trying out the well. Then after eating he'd been really tired, and it was getting dark anyway, so he'd figured he may as well go to sleep and leave in the morning.

So it was that Inuyasha didn't find himself heading out towards the woods until late morning the next day. "Where are you going?" Kagome asked, dropping down out of the sky to land beside him. Inuyasha found he was getting rather used to her appearing this way.

"I'm heading out to the Bone Eater's Well," Inuyasha said.

Kagome frowned. "What for? It's just a dry well."

Inuyasha hesitated. He hadn't actually told anybody yet how he'd come to be here, and he wasn't sure whether or not Kagome would believe him. But really, what did he have to lose by telling her?

"Well, you see," Inuyasha started, "I'm actually from about five hundred years in the future, give or take some years. The other day I fell down the well and ended up here, in this time. I'm hoping the well will also take me back to my own time. If it doesn't…" Inuyasha trailed off as the seriousness of his situation fully hit him for the first time. He swallowed. "If it doesn't, I probably won't ever see my family again."

Kagome was quiet for a minute, and Inuyasha thought she might not believe him. He wouldn't really blame her if she didn't. Finally, she said, "Then for your sake, I hope it does work. I can't think of anything worse than losing your family."

Something in her tone of voice made Inuyasha look over at her, and he saw real pain reflected in her golden eyes. "What happened to your family?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly certain that Kagome was alone in the world.

Kagome bit her lip and looked away, so Inuyasha hastened to add, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But if you want to talk, I'll listen."

"My father was a dog demon," Kagome said. "He was very powerful; Lord of the Western Lands, in fact. My mother was a human princess that he fell in love with. On the day I was born, my father had a battle with a dragon, Ryukotsusei. He won, but the battle left him badly injured. He would have been okay if he'd rested after his battle, but he found out that my mother was under attack. Instead of resting, he came to my mother's rescue. Because of that, he died from his injuries, so I never got to meet him."

Kagome lapsed into silence, so Inuyasha said, "He sounds like a good person."

"Based on what I've been told, he was," Kagome said. "My mother raised me by herself. Only, when I was still young she got sick and died. There was nothing anyone could do. But once she was gone, the castle folk banished me."

Inuyasha stopped walking, incredulous. "They _banished_ you? As a _kid_? Why?"

Kagome looked up at him. "When you're a half breed, nobody wants you. Humans think you're no better than a demon, and demons see half breeds as lower than humans. It's just how things are."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Inuyasha said. "No one can help who their parents are or how they were born. It's not like you chose to be a half demon. And even if you had, I still don't see why it should matter."

Kagome stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth partially open in surprise.

"What?" Inuyasha said defensively at her look.

"Kikyo said the same thing to me, once," Kagome said. "She used different words, but she said basically the same thing."

Inuyasha shifted his weight, still uncomfortable with being compared to Kikyo. "Yeah, well, at least she got something right."

He started walking again, but Kagome caught his sleeve. He paused and looked back at her. "You and her are the only ones who've ever said that to me before," Kagome said. She smiled the sweetest, most sincere smile Inuyasha had ever seen on any girl. "Thank you."

Inuyasha could feel his face heating up, and he quickly looked away. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yeah, sure, whatever."

They made it to the well and Inuyasha stared down into the bottom. _I really hope this works._

"Hey," Inuyasha said, looking back at Kagome. "If the well works and I can travel back and forth from my time to here, I'll come back and visit. I promise."

Kagome nodded, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'll look forward to it."

Taking a deep breath, Inuyasha braced himself and jumped.

* * *

Kagome stepped forward and peered down the well, half expecting to see Inuyasha glaring up at her. But there was nothing; Inuyasha was gone, as if he'd never existed, and he'd taken the jewel with him. Kagome sighed and looked away. "I should have taken the jewel when I had the chance."

But how could Kagome steal from the only person she knew that didn't hate her? She couldn't bring herself to hurt Inuyasha, not now when he was the closest thing she had to a friend.

"And he said he'd be back," Kagome said, turning away from the well. "He promised." But Kagome knew that promises were easily forgotten, and a part of her selfishly wished that the well hadn't worked and he'd been stuck here in this time with her.

Kagome froze when she sensed a dark presence nearby. Her head snapped up and she sniffed the air as her ears twitched, trying to locate the source of the feeling.

"Who's there?" Kagome snapped, falling into a defensive stance.

Someone giggled, and Kagome knew that the sound could only bode ill for her. A female demon appeared then, floating down out of the sky. She had short black hair, bright red eyes, and wore a skimpy black outfit.

"I heard there was a half demon after the jewel," she said in a sugary sweet voice that set Kagome's teeth on edge. "That must be you!"

"And who are you?" Kagome asked.

"My name is Yura," the woman said. "Now tell me, where is the Shikon Jewel?"

"It's gone," Kagome said, suddenly glad that Inuyasha had taken the jewel with him into the future. Yura was most definitely bad news, and the last thing they needed was for her to get her hands on the Shikon Jewel.

Yura's eyes narrowed. "Where has it gone?"

"Nowhere you can get it," Kagome snapped in reply.

"Then I guess I don't need you!" Yura said and made a slashing motion with her arm.

Something Kagome couldn't see slammed into her chest, knocking her back and to the ground. _If I wasn't wearing my Robe of the Fire Rat, that probably would have gone completely through me. Whatever _it_ is. _

Yura made another motion with her hands, but Kagome still couldn't see whatever it was that Yura was attacking her with. Taking a chance, Kagome jumped to the side, but the thing slammed into her again. This time, instead of knocking her to the ground, the strange material wrapped around her wrists and ankles, holding her up in the air. Kagome struggled against her bonds, but whatever the invisible material was, it was tough.

"You know," Yura said thoughtfully, drifting closer. "You do have pretty silver hair. I ought to keep it for my collection." Yura pulled her short sword out of the sheath she wore on her hip and took careful aim. "Hold still now; I want to get a clean cut."

Kagome's eyes widened as Yura flew at her with the sword; tied up as she was, she had no way to dodge Yura's blow. Then an arrow flew in from Kagome's left and pierced Yura's side. Yura fell back with a pained scream, and Kagome's bonds loosened enough that she was able to tear out of them.

Kagome landed lightly on the ground and looked to the side to find Kaede, who already had another arrow ready to fire.

"Where is Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

"He went home," Kagome said, dashing over to the old woman's side.

Kaede looked over at her sharply. "What? We need him for this!"

"How were we supposed to know that?" Kagome asked.

"You old hag," Yura snarled, interrupting their conversation. Her wide eyes had a crazed look to them, and her side where the arrow had pierced her was badly burned. "You'll pay for that!" She jerked her arm in a sharp throwing gesture, so Kagome immediately moved in front of Kaede with her arms crossed in front of her face to use her sleeves as a shield. Yura's invisible weapon hit her hard, but Kagome was braced for impact this time and held her ground.

"You must get Inuyasha," Kaede said.

"Okay," Kagome said through gritted teeth, "but first I'm getting you out of here!" If she didn't, Yura was sure to kill Kaede, and Kagome had no intentions of letting such a thing happen.

Turning, Kagome scooped Kaede up and ran.

* * *

When the pink light faded, Inuyasha found himself standing in the dark bottom of the well. He looked up and didn't see blue skies, but the brown underside of the well house roof. He leaned back against the side of the well, and let out a breath of air. If there was a roof over the well, then he was home.

"It worked," he said. "I'm back."

He heard the door to the well house rattle open, and then Souta's voice was saying, "I'm telling you, Grandpa, a monster dragged him down the well!"

"But we checked the well, Souta," Gramp's voice said. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"Yo, Gramps!" Inuyasha called. "Can you toss a rope or something down here so I can climb out?"

Seconds later Gramps and Souta were leaning over the edge of the well. "Inuyasha?" Gramps said incredulously.

Inuyasha grinned up at their stunned faces. "Are you going to help me out or what?" he asked.

It took a few minutes for Gramps and Souta to find a rope, and then they tossed it down the well for him. As soon as Inuyasha was out, Gramps was scolding him. "Where have you been, young man? We've been worried sick about you! You could have at least called us!"

"Let's find Mom first, and then I'll tell you both what happened," Inuyasha said.

They went to the house where Mrs. Higurashi was working in the kitchen. Inuyasha knew the moment he saw her that something was wrong; her movements were mechanical and stiff, her shoulders bunched and tense.

"Mom?" Inuyasha said.

Her head snapped up and for a moment she just stared at him. Then tears filled her eyes and she dropped the food she was preparing to wrap Inuyasha in a tight hug. "Inuyasha! I was so worried! What happened to you?"

Guilt ate at him as he hugged his mother back. As soon as he'd thought of trying the well to get home he should have done it, but he hadn't given any thought to how worried his family would be about him.

"Sorry, Mom," Inuyasha said. "I wasn't sure how to get home at first."

She pulled back, frowning at him. "What are you talking about?"

"It's a long story," Inuyasha said. "Maybe we should sit down?"

They sat around the kitchen table. "You were dragged down the well by that monster, right?" Souta said.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said. He looked at Gramps and his mom. "I know it sounds crazy, but I was. And then, when I got to the bottom of the well, I was five hundred years in the past."

Inuyasha told them what had happened, how he'd found Kagome, about Kaede and her village, and about Mistress Centipede and the sacred jewel. As proof Inuyasha pulled the jewel out of his pocket and showed it to them.

Gramps examined the jewel. "So this is the Shikon Jewel?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "That's what everyone there said."

"Inuyasha," his mom said frowning, "this is a very difficult story to believe."

"There's no way he's lying," Souta said. "Inuyasha is the worst liar ever. He's telling the truth."

Inuyasha glared at his little brother, not entirely sure he appreciated this defense.

"The boy has a point," Gramps said, setting the jewel back down on the table. "And I think if Inuyasha were going to lie to us, he'd make it something a little more believable."

"True," Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Well," Gramps said, standing up. "The jewel should be safe here. I'll just seal up the well so that nothing else can come through."

"You can't seal it up!" Inuyasha protested.

His family all looked at him. "Why not?" Gramps asked.

"You aren't planning to go back there, are you?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"Well, yeah," Inuyasha said. "I promised Kagome that I'd visit her."

Souta grinned and pointed a finger at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha has a girlfriend!"

"She is not my girlfriend!" Inuyasha snapped, swiping at Souta's hand. Souta dodged out of his reach. Inuyasha turned back to Gramps and his mother. "Look, it's just that she doesn't have any family or friends back there, and people judge her because she's a half breed. She doesn't deserve that, and anyway, I promised."

"Well, I suppose it would be okay, since we'll know where you are," Mrs. Higurashi finally said.

Inuyasha grinned and relaxed. "Thanks, Mom."

"Inuyasha has a girlfriend!" Souta said in a sing song voice.

Inuyasha grin disappeared and his eyebrow twitched. "That's it! Come here you little brat!"

Inuyasha had just managed to catch Souta in the living room when their front door swung open. The brothers froze and stared at the figure outlined by the sunlight.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha sputtered.

Kagome's golden eyes focused on him, and she took a few steps into the house. "Inuyasha, you've got to come back right now!"

"How did you get here?" Inuyasha asked.

"Through the well," she said impatiently. "Now we've got to go!"

"Hold on, just a minute!" Mrs. Higurashi said walking forward.

Kagome tensed as Mrs. Higurashi reached out to her, and then looked stunned when Mrs. Higurashi reached up and rubbed her ears.

"Are these real?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

Souta rushed over. "Oh, me next! I want to touch them!"

"Mom!" Inuyasha protested. "You can't just touch someone's ears!"

"It's okay," Kagome said as Mrs. Higurashi backed off. "But, Inuyasha, we need to go now!"

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked.

"A demon named Yura showed up looking for the jewel," Kagome said. "Kaede helped me fight her off temporarily, but now she's out for Kaede's blood!"

"Is Kaede okay?" Inuyasha asked.

"For now," Kagome said. "I've got her hidden, but she's too old for this fight, and I have to have help from someone. Yura attacks with hair, but it's invisible to me. Kaede could see it though, and she said you should be able to see it too."

"She attacks with hair?" Inuyasha repeated.

"Trust me, it's a lot more dangerous than it sounds," Kagome said. "And we need to go!"

Inuyasha nodded. "Okay, let's go." If this Yura was on a rampage and couldn't find either the jewel or Kaede, she might decide to take it out on the village, and Inuyasha couldn't just stand back and let that happen.

"Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said with a worried frown. "Be careful."

Inuyasha nodded. "I will."

Kagome and Inuyasha went back to the well house. "Didn't think I'd be going back quite this soon," Inuyasha said.

"Sorry," Kagome said.

"Why?" Inuyasha asked. "It's not your fault."

"Just be careful," Kagome said. "Yura is a lot more dangerous than Mistress Centipede was."

_And I was next to useless against Mistress Centipede. Great._

But there was no way he was going to tell Kagome he was nervous, so he just forced a grin and said, "Don't worry. I've got this."

They jumped down the well together, and that pink light swirled up around them. It faded away, and they landed softly at the bottom of the well. Without asking permission, Kagome wrapped an arm around Inuyasha's waist and jumped up to the top of the well.

_Okay, she has got to stop carrying me._

What he saw at the top of the well quickly chased away thoughts of his discomfort however. Strands of hair crisscrossed the clearing at random, reminding Inuyasha of laser beams in an action movie. "Whoa," Inuyasha said. "How did all this get here?"

"All what?" Kagome asked. "Is it more hair?"

"You seriously can't see this?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Not at all."

"It's like a spider web," Inuyasha said.

"If it's like a web, maybe we can follow it back to Yura," Kagome said.

"I don't see how," Inuyasha argued. "There are so many different hairs, and they're all going in different directions."

Then one strand of hair in particular caught his eye. It seemed to almost be glowing a little. "Hold on, that one might work," Inuyasha said. "Follow me exactly, so you don't break the hairs. We don't need to let Yura know where we are if we can help it."

Inuyasha followed the hair, carefully ducking under or stepping over the other hairs that crisscrossed their path. By mimicking his movements, Kagome managed to avoid snapping the hairs as well. Wherever Yura was holed up, it seemed to be several miles away from the well.

"Are we almost there?" Kagome asked quietly. "This is taking a while."

"The element of surprise is always worth it," Inuyasha replied. A shiver traveled up his spine. "And yeah, I think we're almost there."

He dropped to the ground and belly crawled the last few feet to some bushes. Carefully peeking through the leaves, Inuyasha found they were on the edge of a clearing. Inside the clearing was a giant hairball, nearly as big as his house. The clearing was crisscrossed by ropes of hair as thick as Inuyasha's arm.

"What do you see?" Kagome whispered in his ear.

"Giant hairball," Inuyasha whispered back. "This must be Yura's home base. But I don't see her."

"Me neither," Kagome said. "Where do you think she is?"

"If she's not here, it's almost guaranteed she's causing trouble somewhere else," Inuyasha growled.

Kagome bit her lip. "Do you think she's attacking the village?"

"Don't know," Inuyasha said. "Let's get her attention, just in case."

Inuyasha stood and walked into the clearing, still ducking and stepping over the ropes of hair as he approached the hairball. "How about we start by messing up her nest?" He picked up a stick off the ground and stabbed it at the giant hairball. A cool, tingling sensation rushed down his arm, and the stick flared with a pink light that caused the hairball to shudder and then burst open where Inuyasha had stabbed it. Skulls with hair still attached spilled out and Inuyasha stumbled back from them with a yelp. "Why are there skulls inside this thing?" he gasped.

"Yura controls hair," Kagome pointed out. "Where did you think she got it?"

Inuyasha stared at her. How could she be calm about it? Yura had to have murdered hundreds, maybe thousands of people to get this much hair. Why did Kagome seem to think it wasn't surprising at all?

But now wasn't time for those questions. Inuyasha forced himself to look at the nest of skulls and hair again. Looking up at it, Inuyasha saw a skull deeper inside of it that was bright red. "That looks important," Inuyasha said. In this case, important probably meant he should break it. But he didn't fancy the idea of climbing up that hill of skulls.

Swallowing his pride, Inuyasha said, "Kagome, I need you to get me up there," he said pointing.

Kagome obligingly wrapped her arm around his waist again and jumped up in the direction he had said. They landed high amidst the skulls, and Inuyasha winced as he felt them shift under his shoes and clack together.

_If this isn't nightmare fuel, I don't know what is._

But they were close to the red skull, so Inuyasha started climbing up towards it.

"Get _out_ of my _hair_!"

The skulls beneath Inuyasha surged, causing Inuyasha to lose his footing and fall. Ropes of hair snapped out and wrapped around his wrists yanking him up into the air where he saw that Kagome was similarly tied up. A woman that must have been Yura stood on a rope of hair between them.

_What is it with demon women and not being decently covered?_ Inuyasha wondered as he stared at her mostly revealed cleavage. Not that Inuyasha was complaining; he just wasn't used to it.

"You," Yura said snapping Inuyasha out of his thoughts. "You're the one who has the jewel!"

A thinner rope of hair reached out and pulled the jewel from his pants pocket. "Give that back!" Inuyasha said, pulling against his bonds to no avail. Yura was causing them enough trouble without the jewel; Inuyasha didn't want to know how powerful she'd be with the jewel.

An arrow cut through the air, severing the rope of hair that held the jewel. The jewel fell to the ground as everyone looked to see where the arrow had come from. Inuyasha's jaw dropped when he saw Kaede standing at the edge of the clearing, fitting another arrow to her bow.

"What do you think you're doing, grandma?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Saving you two, apparently," Kaede said calmly.

"Old hag," Yura growled, lunging towards her, only to be forced to dodge another of Kaede's arrows. The arrow flew past Yura and severed the hair pinning one of Kagome's hands. Then Kagome was able to use her claws to free herself.

Kagome attacked Yura, and while they were busy Kaede shot another arrow to free Inuyasha. He fell heavily to the ground, and immediately started looking for the jewel.

_Where'd it go, where'd it go?_

Inuyasha spotted it, lying beneath the place where Yura and Kagome were fighting. Inuyasha rushed for it, but Yura caught sight of him and said, "The jewel is mine!" She threw her sword at Inuyasha who had to dodge to the side. The blade buried itself deep into the ground.

Desperate for a weapon of some kind, Inuyasha grabbed the sword, and a small flash of pink light disintegrated the hairs that had been tied to the sword to control its movements.

Yura was forced to dodge another arrow from Kaede and a swipe Kagome's claws. This gave Inuyasha just enough time to scramble forward and grab the jewel.

_We've got to end this fast! That was way too close._

Inuyasha remembered the red skull and ran back towards the giant hairball.

"Inuyasha, behind you!" Kaede called.

Inuyasha turned to see a giant spike of hair coming straight for him. He raised the sword in a pitiful defense, but suddenly Kagome was there. The hair slammed into her, then widened and wrapped around her like a cocoon, leaving only her head uncovered. The hair lifted her back up towards Yura who was glaring down at Inuyasha.

"Hand over the jewel," she said, "or your little puppy here is dead."

"Don't do it Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.

"You must not give her the jewel!" Kaede said.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, sorely wishing Yura was in range of the sword he was holding. Giving Yura the jewel was a bad idea; she'd probably just kill them all anyway. But he couldn't knowingly sentence Kagome to death either.

"You want the jewel?" Inuyasha asked. "Fine, then take it!"

Inuyasha tossed the jewel up in the air, and as it came down he swung the sword at it with all his strength. His intention was to use the sword like a bat, knocking the jewel so far away that Yura would hopefully be so distracted trying to find it that they'd be able to defeat her.

That wasn't how it played out.

When the sword came in contact with the jewel, the jewel flared so brightly that Inuyasha couldn't look directly at it. Then with a force that knocked Inuyasha back, the jewel shattered, pieces streaking through the air in all directions.

When the light faded, lying on the ground was a single pink shard of the jewel.

"You broke the jewel," Yura said, staring at the shard. "You broke the jewel!"

"I didn't mean to," Inuyasha protested. "You'd think a magic jewel like that would be unbreakable or something!"

Yura's lips pulled back in a snarl. "Die!"

An arrow hit Yura in the back before she could attack him. "Go, Inuyasha!" Kaede called as Yura screamed in pain.

Inuyasha didn't need to be told twice. He took off at a sprint for the hairball and jumped up the skull hill towards the red skull. He scrambled up the hairball, not looking back to see if Yura was attacking him or not, and as soon as he was in range Inuyasha pulled back his arm and stabbed the skull.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see Yura's body disintegrate. Slowly, the hair and skulls beneath him also faded away, and Inuyasha soon found himself sitting on the ground. Kagome dropped down from the cocoon of hair she'd been trapped in and Kaede walked forward to meet them. The elderly priestess paused long enough to collect the jewel shard and bring it over to Inuyasha. Numbly, Inuyasha held out his hand for the shard and Kaede dropped it in his hand.

"That shard still contains the power of the jewel," Kaede said. "If a demon gets a hold of it, it will still cause them to become far more powerful than they already are."

"And now they've all been scattered to who knows where," Kagome said. She glared at Inuyasha. "What were you thinking?"

"I didn't know it would break!" Inuyasha said. "I was trying to save you!"

Kagome's expression softened, just a little. "I know. I'm sorry."

"You will have to collect them," Kaede said. "Inuyasha, you are the only one who has the ability to sense jewel shards. You and Kagome will have to work together to find them all before they fall into the wrong hands."

Inuyasha nodded. He'd screwed up big time, and now it was his responsibility to fix it. _How many people are going to suffer because of my mistake? _He didn't even want to think about it.

"Guess I'll be here a lot more than I thought," Inuyasha said, using the sword to push himself up to his feet.

"We'd better check on the village," Kagome said. "Yura may have attacked it."

"Let's go," Inuyasha said. He clutched the shard in his hand as they went back towards the village. Somehow, that one small shard felt a hundred times heavier than the entire jewel ever had.


	4. Chapter 4

Aristocratic Assassin, Sesshomaru

After checking on the village, Inuyasha went home so he could assure his family that he was okay. He gave them a shortened version of their fight with Yura, trying to make it seem like it hadn't been quite so dangerous. When he got to the part about breaking the jewel, Gramps was horrified.

"You _broke_ a sacred object?" Gramps asked.

"How was I supposed to know it would break?" Inuyasha snapped. "Magical things are supposed to be durable!" He slouched down in his chair. "But since it is broken, I've got to help find the jewel shards. If I don't, a lot of bad things could happen."

"Well, if you have to you have to," Mrs. Higurashi said. "I don't know what we'll tell your school though."

Thinking of missing school made Inuyasha think of something else he'd missed. He could feel himself go pale. "Oh, crap."

"What is it?" Souta asked.

"I've been missing my lessons," Inuyasha said. "Sensei is going to kill me."

"Just tell him you were sick," Gramps said.

That wasn't going to mollify Sensei. At all. Inuyasha stood. "I'd better go talk to him," Inuyasha said.

"It's almost dinner time," Mrs. Higurashi protested. "At least wait until morning."

"Waiting another day will just put another nail in my coffin," Inuyasha said. "I'll be back!" Waving goodbye to his family, Inuyasha left his house and started walking towards his sensei's dojo.

Sensei had been friends with Inuyasha's father, so when Inuyasha had expressed an interest in learning martial arts, that's where he'd gone. Sensei was an amazing martial artist, and a very good teacher. However, Inuyasha had learned early on that there were a few things that could put Sensei in a very bad temper. Missing a lesson for any reason was high on that list. Inuyasha had missed three.

When Inuyasha made it to Sensei's property, he hesitated trying to decide if Sensei would be in the dojo or his house at this time. Deciding to check the house first, Inuyasha walked up to the front door and knocked. It was opened a moment later by Sensei's ten year old daughter, Usagi.

Usagi gasped when she saw him. "Inuyasha! You're finally here!"

"Um, yeah," Inuyasha said. "Where is Sensei?"

"He's in the dojo still," Usagi told him. She gave him a sympathetic look. "Good luck. I hope you don't die."

"Thanks," Inuyasha said. "Me too."

Inuyasha went over to the dojo where he found Sensei meditating. Without speaking, Inuyasha knelt down in front of Sensei and waited to be acknowledged. Sensei was a tall man at six feet, a good six inches taller than Inuyasha was. His long black hair was tied back in its customary braid to keep it out of Sensei's way, and when his black eyes opened, they pinned Inuyasha to the floor.

"I take it you were on your death bed the past three days," Sensei said, his voice a low rumble. "That's the only reason I can think of for you to miss your lessons."

"I was sick," Inuyasha said. "I thought Mom called you. I'm very sorry."

Sensei stood in one fluid movement, and Inuyasha scrambled to follow suit. As soon as he was on his feet, Sensei's fist shot out and caught him in the jaw causing Inuyasha to stumble back. Before he could regain his footing, Sensei grabbed a fistful of Inuyasha's shirt and threw him out of the dojo's door. Inuyasha landed hard enough that the fall winded him.

"When you feel like telling me the truth, you may return," Sensei said and snapped the door shut.

Inuyasha sat up with a groan, rubbing his jaw. _Man, that hurt. It might even bruise. Sensei is really ticked._

He probably should have expected it. One thing that angered Sensei more than a student missing lessons was being lied to, and despite his efforts Inuyasha never could get the hang of lying.

But there was no way Sensei would believe the truth. No one in their right mind would believe Inuyasha about what had really happened. His own family almost hadn't believed him, and Inuyasha couldn't blame them for it. But if Inuyasha didn't tell the truth, then Sensei would never take him back.

"Screw this," Inuyasha said getting to his feet. "I'll tell him the truth, and if he believes me, great, if he doesn't, at least I tried."

Inuyasha marched back into the dojo where he found Sensei sitting in meditation again. Inuyasha sat down in front of him and said, "Sensei. I haven't been to my lessons because I fell down a magic well and went five hundred years back in time."

Sensei stared at him with an unreadable expression. "Elaborate."

Inuyasha repeated the story of his adventure down the well, concluding with the fight with Yura and the jewel getting broken.

"So," Inuyasha said, "I'm going to have to go back to help search for the jewel shards, which means I'm going to be missing more lessons in the future I guess."

"Hm," Sensei said. "This is an unexpected turn."

Inuyasha blinked. "You believe me?"

"You are the worst liar I know," Sensei said. "You'd never be able to make up all those details on the fly. Besides, if you were going to lie, I think you'd try and come up with something a little less ridiculous."

"Thanks, I think," Inuyasha said.

"However," Sensei continued, "this turn of events also makes your training even more important." He stood to his feet. "It's about time I start training you with a weapon. You aren't likely to last long against demons barehanded."

Sensei led Inuyasha to the back of the dojo where he opened a door. Inuyasha's jaw dropped when he saw what was inside the room. There were weapons of all kinds, from swords to staves, to nunchucks, and everything in between.

"Can you actually use all of these?" Inuyasha asked.

"Would there be any point in having them if I couldn't?" Sensei snapped.

"I guess not," Inuyasha said. "So, do I get to pick one?"

"Of course not," Sensei said. "Don't touch them, don't even breathe on them. I know what weapon you'll be well suited for."

Inuyasha sulked in the doorway. It would be so cool to use Sensei's weapons. Obviously Sensei would forbid him from going anywhere near them then.

Sensei picked out a staff and motioned for Inuyasha to exit the room. "A staff?" Inuyasha asked, a little disappointed. He'd hoped for a cooler weapon.

"Not just a staff," Sensei said. He twisted his hands and the staff separated into three equal sections connected by short lengths of chain. "A three section staff is a useful and versatile weapon. When you are properly trained in its use, you will find that it serves you well."

"Yes, Sensei," Inuyasha said dutifully, but he would still rather have a different weapon, like a sword.

Sensei reattached the sections and tossed the staff to Inuyasha. "Your first lesson begins now."

"Now?" Inuyasha sputtered. "But it's dinner time!"

"You should have thought about that before you came so late," Sensei said. "Let's begin!"

* * *

Inuyasha left for the Feudal Era early the next morning, carrying a backpack loaded down with supplies courtesy of his mother and the staff Sensei had given him the night before. Inuyasha felt fairly well prepared for anything the Feudal Era had to throw at him.

It was a beautiful day back in the Feudal Era; blue skies with a few fluffy white clouds pinning it up. Inuyasha walked into the village, ignoring the looks he got from the villagers; apparently they were still worked up about him supposedly being Kikyo's reincarnation. He went straight to Kaede's hut and ducked inside.

"Morning, Kaede," Inuyasha said.

"Good morning, Inuyasha," Kaede said.

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"She's not back from her morning patrol yet," Kaede said. "Inuyasha, before you leave with her, I want to give you something."

"Okay," Inuyasha said.

Kaede pulled a bead necklace out of her sleeve and held it out for him. "These are the beads of subjugation. To use them, you need only fill them with your power and think of whom you want to wear them. Then, you simply say the word of subjugation and they beads will stop their wearer."

"Thanks," Inuyasha said taking the beads. "But I'm not really sure what I'll need them for."

"I'm giving them to you in case you need to use them on Kagome," Kaede said.

Inuyasha almost dropped them in shock. "Kagome? Why would I need to use them on her?"

"She is after the jewel," Kaede said.

Inuyasha glared at her. "So? Kagome's saved _both_ of our lives! You want me to work with her but not trust her? That's stupid!"

He shoved the necklace in his pocket and turned on his heel. He couldn't believe Kaede was still acting like this, after all Kagome had done for them. He shoved his way past Kaede's door and marched off. He'd find Kagome and they'd go ahead and leave to search for jewel shards. Maybe by the time they got back he'd be able to look at Kaede without getting mad all over again.

He found Kagome at the edge of the forest. "Hey," he called out. "Ready to go?"

She hopped out of the tree she'd been in and eyed him curiously. She seemed a little surprised by his clipped tone of voice. "Sure, we can go." Then she paused and reached up, lightly slapping the side of her neck. She pulled her hand away and a bug fluttered down. "Myoga!" Kagome said with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"The bug has a name?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm a flea demon, young man," said a small voice from the ground. "I am not a mere bug as you put it."

"A talking bug," Inuyasha said. "Now I've seen it all."

"Not hardly," said Myoga.

"Myoga," Kagome repeated, "why are you here? You don't normally visit without a reason."

"Ah, yes," Myoga said. "I'm here because, as you know, I am one of the guardians of your father's grave and someone is trying to find it."

Kagome frowned. "Then why come to me? I don't know where his grave is."

"Yes, well, that's because the person searching for it is Sesshomaru," Myoga said. "And I believe he may be coming after you for information."

Kagome's face did a strange thing then. For just a second it went totally blank and emotionless, before rapidly shifting through a series of emotions. Inuyasha saw hope there, mixed with pain, anger, and eagerness before it finally settled on uncertainty.

"Who is this Sesshomaru person?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sesshomaru is my brother," Kagome said softly.

Inuyasha started at that. When Kagome had told him about her family, she hadn't mentioned the fact that she had a brother.

"Half brother," Myoga said. "The Inu no Taisho is their father, but they have different mothers. Sesshomaru is also a full demon instead of half. By the way, who are you?"

"The name's Inuyasha," he said. "I guess you could say I'm Kagome's friend. We're going to be searching for the shards of the Shikon Jewel together."

"I see," Myoga said. "Wait, you mean to tell me that the Shikon Jewel has returned?"

"Yeah, and it got broken," Inuyasha said.

"How did the Shikon Jewel of all things get broken?" Myoga demanded.

"Myoga," Kagome said, interrupting their talk. "Are you sure Sesshomaru is coming here?"

"Fairly certain," Myoga said. "He seems to think you might know something about the location of your father's grave."

"But I don't," Kagome said. "He died when I was only a baby."

"You're the guardian of his grave," Inuyasha said. "Don't you know where it is?"

"Erm, well, not exactly," Myoga said.

"What do you mean, not exactly?" Inuyasha asked. "What kind of guardian are you if you don't even know where the grave you're guarding is?"

"The Inu no Taisho did not wish for it to be easily found," Myoga said. "All that is known of its location is three cryptic clues."

"Three clues," said a new voice. "I was only informed of two."

Inuyasha and Kagome both jumped up to their feet at the sound to see a figure that must have been Sesshomaru approaching them from the forest. He was tall, though not quite as tall as Sensei, with silver hair that fell to his knees, and golden eyes. He had strange facial markings that kind of, in Inuyasha's opinion, made it look like he was wearing makeup. His every move was gauged and deliberate, and he had a presence that made Yura seem like nothing.

_If we have to fight this guy, I'm not sure we can win._

"Seeing but never seen, protected but never known by its protector," Sesshomaru recited. His golden eyes narrowed. "What is the third clue?"

"Did I say there were three clues?" Myoga asked from Kagome's shoulder. "That was a slip of the tongue. Obviously there are only two clues."

"Fool! Do not lie to Lord Sesshomaru!" screeched a creature that Inuyasha had overlooked before. It was a short, toad like creature with bulbous yellow eyes waving around a staff that was more than twice as tall as it was.

"The heck is that?" Inuyasha couldn't help but ask.

The creature glared at him. "Pathetic human! How dare you address me?"

Inuyasha's eye twitched and he began to wonder just how far he could punt the thing.

Suddenly Sesshomaru was standing inches from Kagome. Inuyasha's jaw dropped. He hadn't even seen Sesshomaru move.

"What is the third clue?" Sesshomaru asked. "I will not ask again."

"I didn't even know the first two," Kagome said.

"I misspoke," Myoga added. "There is no third clue."

"Then you are no use to me," Sesshomaru said. "Die." Again moving faster than Inuyasha's eyes could follow, Sesshomaru jumped up into the air and began lashing out at Kagome with a glowing energy whip. Kagome just barely managed to block the strike using her sleeve, but the blow still knocked her back.

Inuyasha stumbled back from the fight, wide eyed with shock. "But they're family," he said to himself. "Why would he attack her?"

"_I can't think of anything worse than losing your family."_

"_Demons see half breeds as lower than humans."_

"_Half brother. Sesshomaru is also full demon."_

The pieces clicked into place, but Inuyasha didn't like the picture he was getting. Kagome had been abandoned as a child, and this guy could have helped her, but he hadn't. Kagome desperately wanted a family, and this guy stayed away. Kagome didn't have the information he wanted, and now he was trying to kill her.

"Okay," Inuyasha growled, "now I'm pissed."

"Sesshomaru generally has that effect on people," Myoga agreed from Inuyasha's shoulder.

Inuyasha looked over at him and sputtered. "Myoga! What are you doing over here? Why aren't you with Kagome?"

"What, and get in the middle of that?" Myoga replied, pointing at the fight. "Are you crazy?"

Inuyasha looked back out at the fight. It wasn't going well. Sesshomaru's attacks were fast and relentless. It was all Kagome could do to dodge and block, and she wasn't even trying to attack him. _He's her family; the only family she has. Kagome is never going to attack him._ But if she didn't fight back then Sesshomaru would succeed in killing her.

Inuyasha plucked Myoga off his shoulder and held him firmly between two fingers. "Myoga, did I mention earlier that I'm a priest in training?"

"Um, no?" Myoga said, trying unsuccessfully to squirm out of his grip.

"Well, I am," Inuyasha said. "So unless you want to find out what it's like to be purified, I suggest you tell me the third clue!"

"There is no third clue!" Myoga said.

"He's going to kill her!" Inuyasha snapped. "Is a stupid grave really worth Kagome's life?"

Myoga sighed in defeat. "The black pearl on the right."

The moment Myoga said those words, Sesshomaru froze. His cold eyes drifted over to Myoga and Inuyasha and he said, "Now, was that so hard?"

_I really hate this guy._

"The black pearl on the right," he repeated, his gaze turning back to Kagome. "Seeing but never seen. Protected but unknown to its protector." He smirked. "It's been under our noses this whole time. Or, perhaps I should say above your nose." He moved then, catching Kagome up with one hand by the neck.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried out in alarm.

With his free hand, Sesshomaru pointed two fingers at Kagome's right eye. Energy leaped from his fingers and pierced her eye, making Kagome cry out in pain. Inuyasha ran towards them, but before he made it Sesshomaru tossed Kagome to the side. Inuyasha knelt by her where she lay on the ground, one hand pressed over her eye. Inuyasha pulled her hand away so he could see the damage done, and sucked in a breath. Her pupil was gone, leaving just a spot of gold in her eye.

"Can you still see?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes," Kagome said, her voice a little shaky.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru said. The toad like creature ran to him. Sesshomaru dropped a small black pearl on the ground and took the two headed staff from Jaken. He tapped the pearl with the bottom of the staff, and the old man's head at the top laughed. The pearl flew up in the air and expanded into a black portal. Sesshomaru tossed the staff back to Jaken and the two walked through the portal.

"Quickly," Myoga said, "we must follow them."

"Why?" Kagome asked, sounding more miserable than Inuyasha had heard before. "Let him do whatever he wants with Father's grave. I don't care."

"But Kagome," Myoga protested, "he's going to steal your birthright!"

"Her birthright?" Inuyasha asked.

"One of your father's swords, the Tetsusaiga, is hidden in his grave," Myoga explained. "He always intended that sword for you, but Sesshomaru is going to steal it!"

Inuyasha had heard enough. He stood to his feet and marched over to the portal. "Where are you going?" Kagome called.

"To stop that bastard from taking what's yours!" Inuyasha called back. "Are you coming or what?"

Without waiting for a response Inuyasha jumped through the portal. He found himself falling through the sky over a rocky wasteland. In the distance, there was a giant dog like skeleton wearing armor. Kagome fizzled into existence beside him, and a skeletal bird creature flew underneath them so they landed on its back.

"Inuyasha, you can't fight Sesshomaru," Kagome said.

"Well, you won't fight him," Inuyasha said.

"He's my brother!" Kagome said.

"He tried to kill you!" Inuyasha shouted. "That bastard doesn't deserve to be your brother! Next time would you please just punch him?"

"I'm not like him!" Kagome yelled back. "I can't hurt my family!"

"Well, I'm not related to him," Inuyasha said grimly. "If you can't handle him, I will."

The bird landed on the giant skeleton's shoulder. "Behold," said Myoga from his place on Kagome, "the great dog demon, the Inu no Taisho, in his truest form."

"Yeah whatever," said Inuyasha who was in no mood to be impressed. He hopped into the inside of the skeleton's mouth and started climbing down.

"Inuyasha, what are you planning?" Kagome demanded.

Inuyasha didn't answer. He'd already seen how good Sesshomaru's hearing was. He couldn't tell Kagome his plan and risk Sesshomaru overhearing.

They made it to the bottom and found Sesshomaru standing in front of a pedestal. A sword stood on the pedestal, its blade buried in the rock.

"Why hasn't he taken the sword yet?" Myoga wondered out loud. "He must not be able to pull it out! Kagome, this is more proof that what I said was true; your father always intended the Tetsusaiga for you! You must retrieve the sword!"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at Myoga's words, but Inuyasha ignored them all. He didn't care about the sword; he wanted to get payback. Inuyasha pulled the necklace Kaede had given him out of his pocket. Like she had told him to do, Inuyasha concentrated his power on the beads and pictured Sesshomaru in his head.

The beads lit up with power and flew towards Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru's eyes widened with surprise and he dodged to the side, but this time Sesshomaru could not move fast enough. The beads fastened around his neck and the moment they did Inuyasha said the word he'd thought of beforehand.

"Sit!"

Sesshomaru was a dog demon. It had seemed fitting.

The necklace glowed and Sesshomaru slammed face first into the ground.

"What have you done?" Jaken squawked.

Inuyasha smirked. That had felt good.

Sesshomaru shoved himself up, snarling with his eyes bleeding red.

"Sit!" Inuyasha snapped. Sesshomaru slammed back into the ground. "Sit, sit, sit, sit, _sit_!"

With each repetition of the word, Sesshomaru was pounded deeper into the ground, until he was in a small crater. Sesshomaru raised his head, still snarling. "I will kill you, human."

"Not today," Inuyasha replied. "Sit!"

Sesshomaru's head snapped back down into the ground.

"How dare you!" screeched Jaken and he pointed his staff at Inuyasha. Flames burst out of it, and Kagome jumped in the way, blocking the flames from Inuyasha.

Unable to see Sesshomaru and unsure how long exactly the necklace would keep him pinned, Inuyasha chanted, "Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!"

When the flames died Inuyasha saw that Sesshomaru had covered half the distance between them before getting buried in a new, deeper crater than before. The spikes over his left shoulder cracked and then shattered from the repeated pounding.

Kagome kicked Jaken to the side to keep him from shooting his flames again.

Without taking his eyes off of Sesshomaru's unmoving form, Inuyasha said, "Kagome, go ahead and take the sword. Then we're out of here."

Kagome hesitated, looking between him and Sesshomaru. "Go!" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome went to the pedestal and reached out for the sword. She grabbed the hilt and Inuyasha heard Jaken gasp. "How is she immune to the spell that thwarted Lord Sesshomaru?"

The sword glowed as Kagome pulled on it, then the glow faded and the sword was still stuck in the stone. "Myoga," Kagome said, glaring down at the flea on her shoulder, "if the sword is supposed to be mine, why can't I pull it out?"

"Your father was an eccentric person in some ways," Myoga said. "There may be some trick to drawing it."

Sesshomaru started to stand then, his movements slow and deliberate so Inuyasha could follow them. Inuyasha watched him like a hawk, ready to sit him the instant he made a threatening move. He was only a little reassured by the fact that Sesshomaru was no longer growling and his eyes weren't glowing red anymore.

"I will kill you," he said to Inuyasha. Inuyasha could tell it wasn't a threat or a promise, but Sesshomaru saw it as a simple statement of fact.

"Sit," Inuyasha said. Sesshomaru was dragged back to the ground. "Death threats get you sat, and attacking gets you sat. Avoid those and we should be okay."

Sesshomaru stood again, his movements still slow and deliberate so Inuyasha would know he didn't intend to attack. But if looks could kill, Inuyasha would have died a thousand deaths at that moment. Then Sesshomaru's body glowed and collapsed in on itself, turning into a ball of light, and shot out of the skeleton.

"Lord Sesshomaru, wait for me!" Jaken cried and scrambled after him.

When they were gone Inuyasha walked over to the pedestal. "Myoga, what's the trick for getting the sword loose?" Inuyasha asked.

"That I do not know," Myoga said. "But it was intended for Kagome; it must be something she can do."

"It doesn't even look like it's in that deep," Inuyasha said, reaching out to wiggle the sword. At his touch it easily slipped out of the rock.

"How did you do that?" Kagome gasped.

"I just touched it!" Inuyasha said.

Myoga laughed. "Of course! It takes a human to pull it out! I should have seen that coming."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Your father had that sword made so he could protect your mother," Myoga said. "A sword made to protect humans must be drawn by a human. Sesshomaru, with his hatred of humans, would never have been able to free the sword."

Inuyasha eyed the sword. It looked old and rusty, and was even nicked in some places. "It doesn't look that impressive to me," he said handing it over to Kagome.

"It is a powerful weapon," Myoga said. "Its power simply needs to be unlocked."

"How do I do that?" Kagome asked, hefting the sword.

"Think," Myoga said. "Why was it made?"

"To protect," Kagome said, then her eyes widened with understanding. "So I can unlock Tetsusaiga's power if I'm using it to protect someone?"

Myoga nodded. "I believe so."

"Well, if that's what it takes, I can't think of anyone more suited to that sword than you," Inuyasha said.

Kagome's lips curved up in a smile that seemed to light up her whole face. Standing there inside a giant skeleton, Inuyasha realized just how pretty she really was. "Thanks, Inuyasha. For everything."

Inuyasha turned away to hide his warm face. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get out of here!"

"Okay," Kagome said, laughter in her voice.

_I might be in trouble._


	5. Chapter 5

The Toad Who Would be Prince

It was kind of weird, Inuyasha decided, to travel around the countryside with just a girl for company. He'd never really had any female friends before; the only females he interacted with consistently were Usagi and his mother, and Inuyasha wasn't sure how much they really counted given one was only ten and the other was, well, his mother. Now that no one was actively trying to kill him and Kagome or steal their jewel shards, Inuyasha wasn't even sure what they were supposed to talk about.

_Although, technically speaking, I guess we're not totally alone._

Myoga had decided to stick around for a while, and the flea demon was surprisingly chatty. Not that Inuyasha minded, because Myoga also proved to be a wealth of information on demons, and Inuyasha had a lot of questions about what kind of demons they might encounter and how best to fight them.

"So," Inuyasha said, after Myoga's latest lesson as they walked along a dusty dirt road that was more of a path than a road, "raccoon demons are tricksters but mostly harmless, while fox demons are tricksters but actually dangerous."

"Correct," Myoga said. "An adult raccoon demon isn't going to pose much of a threat. Even without spiritual abilities, a well trained human could probably defeat one. A full grown fox demon is quite another story however. Their illusions are far more dangerous."

"It still seems weird to think an illusion can be dangerous," Inuyasha said. "I mean, I get they could make a person run off a cliff or into a bog or something, but other than that, how are they that threatening?"

"It's because your mind tricks you," Kagome answered. "If your mind is convinced that you've been stabbed by a real sword, you're going to feel pain. Also, if your mind thinks you should be dead, it just stops working. That's why their illusions are so dangerous."

"And of course you can't go into a fight with a fox demon and think everything they do is an illusion," Myoga said. "After all, some of their attacks are real, and will kill you whether you believe in them or not."

It all seemed very confusing to Inuyasha. Things that were real but weren't at the same time and were still very dangerous either way just didn't compute well in his mind. He was at heart a very literal person.

"But of course," Myoga said quite smugly, "no fox demon could possibly stand up to the power of Tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha glanced doubtfully at the sword hanging on Kagome's hip. Despite the power Myoga claimed the sword had, it seemed fairly useless to Inuyasha. The blade was rusty, chipped and dull to the point where Inuyasha wasn't convinced it could cut wet paper.

"Do you even know how to use the sword?" Inuyasha asked Kagome.

Kagome blushed. "No-o," she said, dragging the word out so it had two syllables. "I've never fought with any kind of weapon before."

"I'm sure Kagome will pick it up easily," Myoga said.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Fighting well isn't something you just pick up. You have to train to truly master it. I've been training for years with Sensei, which is why I'm such a good martial artist. Now he's going to teach me how to properly use this," Inuyasha said, waving his staff for emphasis. "It's a pity he can't teach you how to use that thing…" Inuyasha trailed off and his eyes widened. He grinned as he came up with possibly the most brilliant plan he'd ever thought of.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kagome asked suspiciously.

"Because Sensei _can_ train you!" Inuyasha said. "You can go through the well to my time just like I can. Sensei is an expert in all kinds of fighting styles. I know he could teach you how to use a sword."

Kagome seemed intrigued by the offer. "Do you really think he would?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't," Inuyasha said. "Training people is what he does."

"Your sensei is a trained swordsman?" Myoga asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, sure," Inuyasha said. "He's got a ton of swords."

Myoga rubbed his chin. "Well, it certainly couldn't hurt for Kagome to have a teacher. Perhaps if she trains, she will learn how to draw out the true power of Tetsusaiga."

"Will it bother him that I'm a half breed?" Kagome asked. She tried to make the question sound casual, but Inuyasha could tell from the way she wouldn't quite meet his eyes that it was anything but.

"Of course not," Inuyasha said. "The only thing Sensei cares about is whether or not you want to learn. As long as you want that, he'll teach you."

Kagome met his gaze then and smiled, which made Inuyasha's stomach do a funny little flip that he really didn't appreciate. "In that case," she said, "I'd be honored to learn from him." She glanced down the road ahead of them, and then back at Inuyasha. "We've been traveling this way for three days now and you haven't sensed a jewel shard, so what do you say we head back? It'd probably be a good idea to get some training in before we meet up with anyone extremely dangerous anyway."

"That's fine with me," Inuyasha said, glancing at the backpack he had slung over his shoulders. "I'm starting to get low on food, so it'd be nice to get back before we run completely out."

Just as he finished speaking, a small white monkey dropped out of an overhanging tree branch and landed on Inuyasha's backpack. "Hey!" Inuyasha shouted. "Get off of me!"

He whirled around, trying to grab the monkey, but he couldn't reach the small creature and in the end he only managed to look like a dog chasing its tail.

"Stay still and I'll get it!" Kagome fussed at him, only to be ignored.

Inuyasha tried to hit the monkey with his staff, but the creature nimbly dodged his attempt and jumped off of his backpack and back up into a tree. However, it was clutching Inuyasha's last bag of potato chips.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled. "Give those back!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It's just one bag of food, Inuyasha."

"They're my favorite flavor!" Inuyasha snapped at her. No one stole his chips; not even a monkey!

The monkey dashed into the woods and Inuyasha followed. Despite its agility, Inuyasha was able to keep it in his sight. They left the small woods, and the monkey dashed up a hill. At the top of the hill was a solitary tree, and sitting under the tree was a young samurai.

The monkey dashed to the samurai and dropped the chips in his lap. Inuyasha followed close behind and glared at the young man. "Give me back those potato chips!"

The young man opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word his eyes widened and then something hit Inuyasha on the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he demanded, glaring at Kagome.

Kagome glared back. "That's for not listening to me! Don't just go running off like that!"

"Why not?" Inuyasha argued. "It's not like you can't keep up with me."

"That isn't the point," Kagome said, her hands on her hips in a classic ticked off female sort of way.

"Um, excuse me?" said a nervous male voice.

"What?" Inuyasha and Kagome snapped at the same time, glaring at the samurai.

He held out the bag of chips to Inuyasha. "I believe my monkey took these from you?"

Inuyasha went to snatch the chips back, but just then the young man's stomach audibly growled causing Inuyasha to hesitate.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" Kagome asked with a concerned frown.

"About two days," the young man said, "but I'd never want to steal food from someone else!"

There was something in the guy's earnest face that reminded Inuyasha of his best friend at school, and he sighed. "Just keep it. I think you need it more than I do."

The guy's face brightened considerably at Inuyasha's words. "Thank you so much! You are too kind!"

"Yeah, sure," Inuyasha said. _I guess I can always get more when I go home._

The guy opened the bag and eagerly dug into the food.

"So, what's your name?" Kagome asked.

The guy hastily swallowed. "I cannot give you my name because I am on a mission," he said. "However, my family name is Nobunaga."

_Nobunaga…Isn't that the name of some important guy we learned about in history?_ Inuyasha couldn't remember for sure. At any rate, Inuyasha couldn't see this guy being important for anything, and it wasn't like Inuyasha cared about history after all.

But one thing Nobunaga had said did interest Inuyasha. "So, what kind of quest are you on?"

"Well," Nobunaga said, apparently made talkative by their gift of food, "in a nearby town the Lord of the area is said to have gone insane, and is taking women from the villages. But this Lord recently married the daughter of my master, Princess Tsuyu."

Nobunaga struck a dramatic pose, determination practically radiating from him. "If these stories of the local Lord are true, then I must rescue Princess Tsuyu from him!"

Inuyasha had never seen a cheesier declaration of devotion from anyone. That Nobunaga was in love with this Princess Tsuyu was pathetically obvious, despite the fact that Inuyasha didn't usually pick up on these things.

Nobunaga smiled bravely at them. "I thank you both for your help, but now I must be on my way." He started to march off and Inuyasha called after him.

"Dude, don't go that way!"

There was a yelp and a crash as Nobunaga found the far side of the hill unexpectedly steep.

Kagome sighed. "Inuyasha, I know we were going to go back, but…"

"Yeah," Inuyasha said. "If we leave this guy alone he's liable to get himself killed." It wasn't like they were really in a rush to get back, and maybe they'd be lucky and find another jewel shard during this little side trip.

Kagome was able to lead the way to a nearby village. She said she could smell it in the distance.

This made Inuyasha realize that despite the fact that Kagome obviously wasn't human, Nobunaga hadn't said a word about it. This kind of surprised Inuyasha, given how strongly everyone else he'd met in the Feudal Era had reacted to this fact. He wanted to ask Nobunaga why Kagome not being human didn't bother him, but he didn't think it would be good to ask in front of Kagome.

_It's just weird. I'd have thought he'd be all freaked out over it or something. But in the long run, I guess it's better that he isn't upset over it._

When they made it to the village, they saw soldiers from the castle leading away several young women. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed when he saw that their hands were tied and they were being led more like livestock than people.

"So the rumors are true," Nobunaga said grimly. "I must rescue Princess Tsuyu!"

"Not just her," Kagome said, also watching the women get led away. "We need to rescue those poor girls too!"

"Then let's go get them!" Inuyasha said and barreled out of the bushes they were hiding in. Kagome cried out for him to stop, but Inuyasha ignored her. There were shouts of surprise from startled villagers as he dashed past them to the nearest soldier who had no time to prepare himself before Inuyasha's fist connected with his face. The soldier dropped like a sack of rocks and Inuyasha turned to fiercely glare at the other soldiers.

"Let the girls go now!" he demanded.

"The people of this land belong to the local Lord to do with as he wills," one of the soldiers snapped. "For standing in our way, you will be punished. Get him!"

Inuyasha suddenly realized he was outnumbered ten to one, and unlike the bandits he had fought before, these soldiers were well armed and armored, and they had obviously had plenty of training.

_Okay, maybe not my brightest idea ever._

Kagome and Nobunaga appeared, each taking down a soldier so they could get to Inuyasha's side. "Inuyasha, what do you think you're doing?" Kagome snapped.

"Trying to rescue the women!" he said. "Isn't that what we said we were going to do?"

"Demon!" yelled the leader of the soldiers. "Kill it!"

Kagome's ears flattened back on her head at the words. Before Inuyasha could think of an appropriate insult to call the soldiers, they attacked en mass, and Inuyasha was hard pressed to keep from getting stabbed. He blocked a swipe of a sword with his staff and really wished he'd had a few more lessons with it before he'd returned to the Feudal Era.

In the end, it was Kagome who took down the soldiers. Making use of her superior speed, Kagome was able to quickly knock out all of the soldiers, including the one that was harassing Inuyasha. Although glad not to have someone trying to stab him anymore, Inuyasha couldn't stop the flash of irritation he felt when he realized that Kagome had saved him, again. He wanted to be strong enough to protect himself.

Trying to smother his irritation, Inuyasha turned to the women who were still tied up. "Don't worry, you're safe now," he said, reaching out to undo the ropes binding them, but they shrank away from him.

"Stay away from us!" they cried.

Inuyasha froze, taken aback by their reaction.

"What have you done?" demanded an old man that was probably a village elder.

Inuyasha's temper flared. "What does it look like? We just saved these women that you all were too scared to save!"

"Fool!" the elder said. "You haven't saved anyone! Now that you've attacked his soldiers, the Lord will blame us and seek vengeance on us and attack our village! Now our young women won't simply be taken from us; we will be killed."

Inuyasha felt as if the ground had dropped out from under him. How was he supposed to know that would happen?

"Leave us!" the elder ordered. "You have done enough damage already."

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's arm and dragged him away, Nobunaga following. "This is what I was trying to tell you," Kagome hissed at him when they made it back into the shelter of the trees. "You can't just go barging into situations like that; you need to stop and think! And quit ignoring me when I speak to you!"

Inuyasha yanked his arm out of her grasp, pride stinging. Yes, he'd screwed up, but he didn't need her rubbing his face in that fact. Before he could respond, Nobunaga cleared his throat to get both of their attention.

"Perhaps we should make our way to the castle?" he said, his voice politely neutral.

"Do you have any idea where it is?" Kagome asked.

"It looked like the soldiers were following that road," Nobunaga said. "I'd suggest we do the same. But we should probably stay off of it."

"Come on then," Kagome said, taking the lead. Nobunaga followed her, and Inuyasha took the rear position, hanging back from them a few feet.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Myoga's voice asked from Inuyasha's shoulder, making him jump with surprise.

Inuyasha glared down at the flea. "Don't do that! And no, I don't."

"If you say so," Myoga replied.

Inuyasha glared at Kagome's back. "It isn't fair," he grumbled. "I was just trying to help them."

And he'd only succeeded in making things worse.

"Perhaps that can yet be managed," Myoga said. "But Inuyasha, you can never fix anything by targeting symptoms. You must fix the cause, which, in this case, is the local Lord."

Inuyasha's scowl deepened. "So, what? I should have let those soldiers take off with those girls?"

"For now," Myoga said. "Then when we got to the castle we could have saved all of them, while handling the cause of the problem, without the upset that's happened now."

As his temper cooled a little, Inuyasha realized that what Myoga was saying sounded a lot like some of the lessons his Sensei had tried to teach him. To _think_ instead of just reacting. To plan his actions, and to consider their potential consequences. Good intentions meant nothing if the consequences were bad, and the consequences in this particular case were that those villagers might end up dead.

"If we're planning, how are we supposed to handle the Lord?" Inuyasha grumbled. "Ask him nicely to stop kidnapping girls?"

"It may be that we will not see a solution until we reach the castle," Myoga said.

"Some help you are," Inuyasha muttered.

It took much longer than Inuyasha expected for them to reach the castle. By the time they arrived, night had fallen and the stars were out.

"How do we get in?" Nobunaga asked, eying the walls.

Inuyasha frowned as he stared at them. He felt a sort of tugging in his spirit, a distant brightness that called to him. "Kagome," he said, "I think there's a jewel shard in there."

She looked over at him sharply. "You're sure?"

"Pretty sure," Inuyasha replied.

"That might serve to explain why the Lord is acting in this manner," Myoga said. "It could be the influence of the jewel."

"We'll have to get in to find out," Kagome said. She crouched down and looked back at Nobunaga and Inuyasha. "Hold on to me, I'll get us over the wall."

Inuyasha and Nobunaga both hesitated. "I know you are strong," Nobunaga said, "but are you sure you can carry us both?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can carry you both. I'm not exactly human, remember?"

Nobunaga seemed to get over his reluctance quickly then, holding on to her shoulders. Inuyasha glared at the samurai, irritated for no reason that he could name. Inuyasha marched over and took hold of her as well.

He could feel her body tense, and then suddenly they were flying through the air. They soared over the wall and landed lightly in some well tended gardens.

"Be careful," Nobunaga said. "We don't want to alert the guards."

Kagome's ears twitched and she frowned. "I don't think we'll have to worry about them," she said.

"Why not?" Inuyasha asked.

She motioned for them to follow and led the way to some stairs that led up to the castle itself. At the bottom of the stairs were two guards, slumped over and completely asleep.

"I can't hear anyone moving around in the castle," Kagome said. "I think they're all asleep."

"This doesn't seem normal," Myoga said. "It could be that the whole castle is enchanted."

"Makes things easier for us," Inuyasha said.

"Princess Tsuyu!"

Kagome and Inuyasha both jumped at the shout. Nobunaga was dashing up the stairs to the castle calling for his princess.

"Shut up, stupid, you're going to wake everyone up!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome sighed. "Come on, Inuyasha."

They dashed after Nobunaga, who had a good lead on them at this point. Still, he wasn't hard to follow, calling out for Princess Tsuyu and slamming open doors in his search.

"Good thing everyone is in an enchanted sleep," Kagome said, "or you two would have alerted the whole place that we're here."

"What do you mean, us two?" Inuyasha asked.

"Princess Tsuyu!" Nobunaga cried again, but this time there was a different note to his voice. He dashed into a room and Kagome and Inuyasha followed him inside. They found him cradling a beautiful young woman in his arms. "Oh, Princess Tsuyu, what has been done to you?"

"Looks like she's in the same enchanted sleep as everyone else," Inuyasha said.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Myoga said and jumped off of Inuyasha's shoulder and onto Princess Tsuyu's cheek. Myoga bit her, and moments later her hand came up and flattened him.

Princess Tsuyu's eyes blinked open, and she stared up at them in confusion. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Princess Tsuyu, I have been sent by your father to rescue you," Nobunaga said.

Her brown eyes widened. "My father sent you?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Princess Tsuyu might be pretty, but she seemed just a little slow on the uptake to him.

"Excuse me," Kagome said, gaining the Princess's attention. Inuyasha tensed, ready for her to react to Kagome's presence with fear, but Princess Tsuyu only blinked with mild surprise at Kagome's appearance.

Maybe the princess wasn't all that bad.

"We'd like to rescue all the village women the Lord has been taking," Kagome said. "Do you know where they are, or why the Lord is taking them in the first place?"

The princess's face pulled down into a pretty frown. "I'm afraid I don't know," she said. "Not too long ago, my Lord fell into the garden pond. He was fished out quickly, but he came down with a terrible fever. When he recovered from his fever he started wearing bandages so no one could see his face and acting very strange. That was when he started ordering the young women to be brought here from the villages. He hides them somewhere in the castle, but I don't know where and I'm not allowed to ask anything about them."

"So, what, you haven't even looked for them?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief.

"How could I?" the princess asked. "It was forbidden to me."

"And?" Inuyasha snapped. "Have you never heard of disobeying someone?"

"Inuyasha, leave Princess Tsuyu alone," Nobunaga said, looking angry for the first time since Inuyasha had met him. "She isn't a warrior, and there was nothing she could to help those women! I'm only thankful that the Lord hasn't harmed her yet."

_What's being a warrior got to do with helping people?_ Inuyasha bit his tongue before the question came out. Starting an argument right now wouldn't help anyone.

"Ahem," Myoga said from Kagome's shoulder, gaining everyone's attention. "I wanted to say that, based on Princess Tsuyu's story, it sounds as though the Lord may have been possessed by a demon from the pond."

"What kind of demon lives in a pond?" Inuyasha asked.

"Not powerful ones, usually," Myoga said. "Toads, fish, and the like. Normally, these don't get strong enough to actually possess someone."

Inuyasha blanched. "But there's a jewel shard here," he said.

Myoga nodded grimly. "Yes," he said. "With a jewel shard, even a lowly demon like that would become powerful enough to possess a human."

_That means…this is my fault._

If he hadn't shattered the jewel, then whatever had possessed the Lord would never have had the ability to do so.

_Whatever happened to those girls is my fault._

Inuyasha turned and went back out into the hallway. "Nobunaga, get the princess out of here," Inuyasha said. "Kagome, come on. We've got to find the Lord and stop him."

"Wait!" Princess Tsuyu said, scrambling to her feet. "Please, don't hurt him! Even if he has been possessed by something, he's still my husband." Tears filled her eyes. "He was a good man, before all this happened. Please."

Inuyasha saw the way Nobunaga flinched at the princess's words and felt sorry for the samurai. It looked like Nobunaga had never really had a chance with her.

"We'll do our best," Kagome said. "Hopefully we can find a way to make whatever is possessing him leave."

Inuyasha's head snapped to the side as he sensed the jewel shard suddenly growing closer. "Heads up, Kagome, he's coming!"

Nobunaga grabbed Princess Tsuyu's hand and pulled her the opposite way down the hall. "Come on, we have to get you out of here!"

They ran as Kagome and Inuyasha braced themselves to meet the Lord, or whatever was left of him. A figure came around the corner, stocky, with an oddly shaped head covered in bandages. "Who are you?" he said in a strange, nasally sort of voice.

"What have you done with the women you kidnapped?" Inuyasha demanded in return.

The Lord seemed to look past them and saw Nobunaga with Princess Tsuyu. "Give me back my princess!" he demanded stepping forward.

Kagome moved in front of Inuyasha and drew her sword in one fluid motion. "Stay back!" she snapped. At her words, the sword suddenly pulsed and flared with light. When the light faded, the blade had changed from a rusty chipped thing to an oversized monster of a sword.

"Behold, the Tetsusaiga's true form!" Myoga said from Inuyasha's shoulder.

"What are you doing over here?" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome brandished her sword at the Lord. "Release the Lord, whoever you are!"

The figure stopped for a moment, and then laughter welled up and bubbled out of it. "So you know," it said and reached up for the bandages around its face. The bandages fell away to reveal a green, toad like face. It leered at them. "I like this body! I'm not giving it up; it's good for collecting souls!"

Collecting souls? Was that what he was doing to those women? Stealing their souls?

_But, without a soul there isn't any afterlife. No heaven or hell or reincarnation. Just…nothingness._

It was the worst fate Inuyasha could imagine.

"You monster," Inuyasha growled, and then charged past Kagome. Swinging his staff, he landed a solid blow on the Lord's stomach, doubling him over. Before he had a chance to recover, Inuyasha brought the staff down on his head, sending the toad to the ground.

"Inuyasha, stop!" Kagome said before Inuyasha could hit him again.

Inuyasha glared down at the prone body. "Why should I?"

"He's unconscious," Kagome said. "Hit him in the head like that again and you might kill him."

Inuyasha stepped back. Laying her sword down, Kagome knelt down and flipped his body over. "Inuyasha, where is the jewel shard? If we can get that out, he might go back to normal."

Inuyasha studied his body. "There, in his chest."

Kagome pushed open the Lord's shirt and frowned. "I don't see anything."

Inuyasha looked closer and swore. "It's _inside_ his chest."

"That makes sense," Myoga spoke up, "since the shard is actually in the toad's possession, not the Lord's."

"Then how do we get it out?" Inuyasha asked.

"We must exorcize the toad first, if we do not wish to kill the Lord," Myoga said.

The toad's eyes flickered open and Inuyasha and Kagome both jumped back, Kagome snatching up Tetsusaiga as she did so. But this time the toad's eyes looked different; no longer a reptilian gold, they were brown and human looking, not to mention confused.

"What's going on?" he asked. His voice sounded different as well, not so nasally, and more human. He looked down at his green hands and his already large eyes widened even more. "Oh no," he said. "No! I had thought it was just a long nightmare, but it was real!" He pressed his hands to his face and shuddered. "Oh, what monstrous things I have done!"

Kagome lowered her sword. "You're the Lord of these lands?"

He looked up at them and pushed himself up to his knees. "Yes, I am." He looked beseechingly at Kagome. "Please, kill me, while I am in my right mind. Don't let me hurt anyone else, I beg of you."

She stared at him for a minute, her grip tightening on the sword hilt until her knuckles were white. Then Kagome sheathed her sword. "No, I won't kill you. We're going to find a way to free you from the toad demon. But first, you must show us where he's been keeping the women, and quickly, before he takes control again."

The Lord nodded. "Very well. Maybe some of them can still be saved."

He led them back the way they had come, down twisting halls until they arrived at a set of doors that were slightly larger than most. He slid them open and Inuyasha's jaw dropped at what he saw. There were at least thirty women in there, maybe more, all encased in egg sacs of some kind. They were all naked, and most seemed a bit transparent.

"The liquid in the sacs slowly erodes away their bodies, leaving only the soul," the Lord said. "And then…and then he…I…consume them." Tears streaming down his face, he turned to Kagome and Inuyasha again. "Please, now you see the full truth! For the good of my people, you must kill me!"

"We'll definitely kill that toad," Inuyasha growled, unable to take his eyes off the terrible sight before him. Someone had to have known what was happening to these women, with as many people as lived in the castle. Why had no one done anything?

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, and pain exploded in Inuyasha's shoulder.

Inuyasha looked back at the Lord, whose eyes had shifted from brown back to gold, and evil seemed to dance on the creature's maliciously smiling face. The toad jerked its head and Inuyasha realized then that it had stabbed him with its super long, and apparently super strong, tongue. Inuyasha stumbled back into the wall clutching his wounded shoulder, and trying not to cry out with pain.

Kagome drew the Tetsusaiga again, putting herself between the toad and Inuyasha. The toad laughed at her. "What are you going to do?" he sneered. "You don't want to kill me, not when it means you'll kill the Lord too."

"I don't want to," Kagome said, "but I will if I have to!"

_No, no you can't_, Inuyasha thought. Because most of those women were probably already dead, and that was Inuyasha's fault. If Kagome was forced to kill the Lord, she'd end up feeling incredibly guilty; she was too nice not to feel guilty. And that would be Inuyasha's fault too.

_I'm supposed to be a priest; maybe I can purify the toad!_

But how when he couldn't reach the toad, and couldn't reliably summon his power?

Kagome lunged, thrusting Tetsusaiga at the toad. It tried to dodge, but it wasn't as fast as Kagome. Still, it managed to move enough that she didn't get his chest like she'd been aiming for, but his shoulder. Her blade plunged deep into his flesh and the toad cried out with pain.

Inuyasha knew he had to act now, before Kagome could do any more. Pushing past his pain, Inuyasha thrust his staff into the toad's side so he wouldn't have to keep walking. Hoping to use the staff as a conduit like he had the stick when he'd tackled Yura's hairball, Inuyasha reached deep within himself for his power. This time it flared to life in pink crackles that shot down the staff and covered the toad. He screamed, and Kagome jumped back to avoid being caught up with him.

A light shot up out of the Lord's body, and for just a moment Inuyasha could see a toad hanging in the air. Then it disintegrated and a jewel shard dropped to the floor. Laying his staff aside, Inuyasha picked up the jewel. Then he looked back over at the Lord, who was once again human, though his shoulder was injured.

His beady brown eyes blinked open and he stared up at them. "I'm free," he said. "The both of you have my eternal thanks." He tried to sit up and winced in pain as he moved his shoulder.

"Let me help," Kagome said, putting away Tetsusaiga. She got the Lord into a sitting position and did the same for Inuyasha.

Footsteps came rushing down the hall and suddenly castle guards appeared. "My Lord!" they cried at seeing him injured. They brandished their weapons with murder in their eyes, but the Lord called for them to halt.

"Put away your weapons!" he ordered. "These two have saved me, and have saved our people. They are to be treated with honor." He winced. "Send for a healer, and have someone check on Princess Tsuyu. Also, begin opening these egg sacs and freeing the women." He looked away, pain shadowing his eyes. "Perhaps some can be saved, and if not, at least their souls may be free to move on to the afterlife."

"Princess Tsuyu is safe," Kagome said. "A samurai, Nobunaga, was sent by her father to make sure of it. He was supposed to have gotten her out of the castle by now; I'll go find them and let them know it is safe to come back."

"Please do," the Lord said.

Kagome left and soon the healer arrived. The older woman tended to the Lord's injuries first, and then Inuyasha's. During the whole process, Inuyasha watched as the guards cut open the sacs to release the women. Most of the time when a sac was opened, a glowing white orb that Inuyasha soon realized must be their souls drifted out. A few times there was a body, but the woman was still dead. In the end, only five of the women were still alive when they were retrieved from the sacs.

"How can I ever fix this?" the Lord asked quietly.

Inuyasha was wondering the same thing.

Kagome returned soon after with Princess Tsuyu and Nobunaga. Princess Tsuyu ran to her husband. "My Lord! You are alive!"

They embraced, and the Lord turned to another of his men. "Have rooms prepared for our guests. They will need rest." He turned to Inuyasha, Kagome, and Nobunaga. "The three of you are welcome to stay for however long you like. When you leave you will be given provisions for your way."

"Thanks," Inuyasha said. But glancing back at the room that was filled with the slime from inside the sacs and still held the bodies of the dead women, Inuyasha knew he wanted to leave as soon as possible.


	6. Chapter 6

Enter Shippo, and the Amazing Thunder Brothers

_Pale faces with dead eyes stared at Inuyasha. Every way he turned they were there, silent and accusing, as numerous as the stars overhead._

"_I'm sorry!" he called out. "I'm sorry! I didn't know this would happen!"_

_The silence deepened. What did sorry matter when his mistake had cost them their lives? For some, their very souls? _Sorry_ meant nothing._

_Their eyes glowed a hellish red, and slime poured down on Inuyasha. It soaked his clothes, matted his hair, swirled up around his body. It forced its way down his mouth, up his nose, choking him, filling him, consuming him, so there would be nothing left, not even a soul to be remembered._

Heart pounding, Inuyasha jerked awake. He sat up with a gasp as pale morning light filtered in through the bedroom window. His heart rate slowed as he realized it had only been a nightmare.

"Guess I should have expected it," he muttered, shuddering as images from the night before rose fresh in his mind. He wondered if Kagome and Nobunaga had had nightmares as well, but figured they probably hadn't. They hadn't seemed nearly as shocked about the dead bodies as he had been last night.

Inuyasha stood and stretched, using the movement to banish the nightmare from his mind. He didn't want Kagome, Myoga, or Nobunaga realizing he'd had a nightmare. Knowing the three of them, they'd want him to talk about it, and Inuyasha just wasn't in the mood.

As Inuyasha finished readying himself for the day, there came a soft knock on the door. "Come in," Inuyasha called.

The door slid open to reveal a servant. "Breakfast is ready, sir," the older woman said.

"Okay, thanks," Inuyasha said. He shoved the last of his stuff in his backpack. "I'm ready."

The woman led Inuyasha to the dining room, where he found the Lord, Princess Tsuyu, and Nobunaga already waiting. A moment later Kagome joined them as well, and a delicious breakfast was served.

During the meal the Lord asked, "Would you like to stay longer, or will you need to leave today?"

"Kagome and I should be going today," Inuyasha said.

"We are very grateful for your hospitality though," Kagome said.

The Lord nodded. "You are most welcome to it. Before you leave, Inuyasha, I will have my healer look at your shoulder one more time, and give you some medicines for it."

Inuyasha nodded his thanks. Despite the pain of his injury the night before, it had turned out to not be quite as bad as he'd feared, though it was still bad enough. Inuyasha could still use his left arm, but not without pain, and he was eager to get back to his time and get what he considered real medical attention.

"I should be on my way as well," Nobunaga said. "I will need to report to Princess Tsuyu's father that all is well."

"Of course," the Lord said. "I will provide all of you with supplies for your trip."

"You are most generous," Nobunaga said with a smile that didn't hold the same cheer Inuyasha had seen in him before.

_That's right; he's in love with the Princess._ Inuyasha winced with sympathy. It had to be rough watching the woman he loved with another man. Unfortunately for Nobunaga, there was nothing he could do in this particular situation.

The meal came to an end and the old healer woman examined Inuyasha's shoulder again. She smothered it with some foul smelling medicine and bandaged it again. She handed him a small bag and said, "There is a jar of medicine in here to prevent infection. You should apply it every morning and evening. There are also extra bandages in there. You should put clean ones on every morning."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Inuyasha said. The old woman nodded and walked away.

Some other servants brought bags of supplies, which Kagome insisted on carrying because of Inuyasha's injury.

Before they left, the Lord thanked them once more for their help. "I don't know how long this evil would have gone on if the three of you had not come. If you ever have need of anything, you only have to ask and I will do whatever is in my power to give it to you."

"We're just glad we could help," Kagome said.

_And get another piece of the jewel,_ Inuyasha added mentally.

They left, and it wasn't long before Nobunaga needed to part ways from them. "I enjoyed meeting the two of you," he said warmly. "Perhaps one day we'll run into each other again." The monkey on his shoulder nodded his head as if he agreed.

"That would be fun," Kagome said smiling brightly at him. "Travel safe!"

"You two as well!" he said, waving as he walked away.

"How is your shoulder?" Kagome asked once Nobunaga was gone.

"Fine," Inuyasha said. It ached, but there was nothing Kagome could do about that so there was no point in complaining.

They both fell quiet a moment and then Kagome said, "Inuyasha, I didn't get a chance to say this last night, but thank you for purifying the toad. If you hadn't been able to do that…"

In the silence after she trailed off, Inuyasha asked, "Would you have really killed him? Knowing the Lord was still alive in there?"

"Yes," Kagome said quietly, but with firmness in her voice. "The toad was using the Lord's position to murder those women and consume their souls. He would never have stopped until he was forced to do so. I wouldn't have liked it, but if there had been no other choice, I would have killed him."

Inuyasha let his gaze drift up to the sky. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Killing the toad was one thing; it was obviously a monster that deserved death for all the innocent people it had murdered. But the Lord hadn't been. He was a victim as much as the women that had been killed.

But despite being a victim, during his brief moment of control the Lord had begged them to kill him. He'd clearly shown he'd rather be dead than used to hurt his subjects. He would have accepted Kagome killing him, and been grateful for her actions. It was a way of life that was incredibly different from what Inuyasha was used to.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, an uncertain frown on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "I think I get what you're saying. The toad had to be stopped one way or another or a lot more innocent people would have been killed." He scowled and scuffed the dusty path with a shoe. "Doesn't mean I like it."

"I don't either," Kagome said.

"Most good people don't," Myoga added in. "Unfortunately, in this day and age, death and killing are simply a part of life."

And Inuyasha just wasn't used to that. Sure he had trained in martial arts his whole life, and he'd been in plenty of fights, but he'd never killed anyone, and had never really expected to in his life.

_I guess I kind of already have._

After all, his purification had killed the toad, which was intelligent and therefore technically a person. But the toad had been so inhuman that Inuyasha felt like it didn't really count. Shying away from the direction his thoughts were taking him in, Inuyasha blurted out, "I'm getting hungry. How about we stop for lunch?"

"Okay," Kagome said. She set down the bags she'd been carrying and Inuyasha started to dig through them for food. Before he'd managed to pull out all the supplies he needed to heat a cup of raman, the air around them seemed to darken. Blue flames swirled in front of Inuyasha, causing him to stumble back in alarm.

"Hand over your jewel shards, or prepare to face my wrath!" a voice demanded from the flames.

Inuyasha frowned. That voice sounded like…a kid?

There was a pop and the flames vanished to reveal a giant pink balloon like creature. Kagome sighed and shook her head. "Do you really think that form is intimidating?"

Inuyasha could have sworn it looked flustered, but it was kind of hard to tell since it was basically a balloon. "Hand over your jewel shards!" it demanded gamely.

"Is this thing for real?" Inuyasha asked.

The thing lunged at Kagome, but she neatly sidestepped it and poked it with a claw. There was another popping sound and the balloon creature transformed into a small child with red hair a bushy fox tail. Remembering Myoga's lessons, Inuyasha said, "It's a fox demon!"

Kagome crossed her arms and looked down at him sternly. "What do you want with our jewel shards?"

The fox demon glared up at her. "That's none of your business, half breed!"

Inuyasha cuffed him upside the head, causing him to yelp. "Be polite, you little brat! Her name is Kagome, use it!"

The kid glared up at him, rubbing the back of his head. "You jerk! Take this!" He whipped out a leaf and stuck it to Inuyasha's face.

Annoyed, Inuyasha brushed the leaf off. "What's that even supposed to do?"

The fox demon's jaw dropped. "No way, how could you do that?"

"Hey, listen," Kagome said, crouching down so she was closer to the child's height. "We can't give you our jewel shards. However, if you tell us what you need them for, we might be able to help you."

He hesitated, seeming to consider her offer. Then he whipped out a small figurine from under his vest and said, "No thanks!" He tossed the figurine at Kagome who instinctively caught it. As soon as it touched her it grew in size, pinning Kagome's hands to the ground. The kid slapped a piece of paper on it and then jumped back with a grin.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha said, starting towards her. Before he took more than one step, the fox demon blurred past him.

"Thanks for the jewel shards!" he called as he dashed down the dirt road.

Inuyasha's hand shot into his pocket only to find the jewel shards were missing. "You little brat!" he shouted as he started to run after him.

"Inuyasha wait!" Kagome yelled and Myoga said at the same time, "Hold on, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha skidded to a stop. "But he's getting away!"

"I can't get out from under this thing," Kagome said, frantically tugging at her hands that were trapped under the statue.

Inuyasha eyed it doubtfully as he walked back to her. "It doesn't look that heavy."

"It's fox demon magic," Myoga said. "You'll have to remove the paper to free Kagome."

Inuyasha tugged the paper off and the statue shrank to its original size. Kagome stood and stretched. "Thanks. Now let's catch that kid!"

They ran in the direction that the fox demon had disappeared in. Kagome took the lead, which irritated Inuyasha, but though she outdistanced him, Kagome never disappeared from his sight.

_She could though. She could be after that little brat so fast I wouldn't stand a chance of catching up._

The thought stung Inuyasha's pride, so he shoved it away to focus on the task at hand. He could sense the jewel shards getting closer, so they were closing in on the fox demon. They came to a field of tall grass and then both stumbled to a halt in surprise. Ahead, the fox demon was cowering in a trembling heap on the ground while a hulking demon loomed over him. The demon had his back towards Kagome and Inuyasha and so didn't notice their arrival.

"Hand over your jewel shards you little runt and I'll kill you quickly," the demon was saying. He patted a fox pelt wrapped around his waist. "I'll add your fur to this; it's getting a little snug."

The kid's eyes went to the pelt, and Inuyasha could just barely hear him whimper, "Father."

_Wait, what? That's his father's fur?_ Suddenly Inuyasha was pretty sure he could guess why the kid had wanted their jewel shards, and it really ticked him off.

"Hey, ugly!" Kagome snapped, drawing Tetsusaiga. "Why don't you try picking on someone who can actually fight back?"

The demon whirled around in surprise. He really was ugly, with pasty skin, an exaggerated teardrop shaped head, and no hair worth mentioning. But what really caught Inuyasha's attention was the jewel shards embedded in his forehead.

"Look out, Kagome, he has jewel shards!" Inuyasha said.

"I see them," she replied without taking her eyes off the demon.

"You pathetic little half breed," the demon growled. "Do you really think you can defeat Manten of the Thunder Brothers?"

"I really do," Kagome said, and rushed him.

Knowing there wasn't really anything he could do to help Kagome in her fight, Inuyasha decided to do what he could and get their shards back from the fox demon. Luckily, the kid was too distracted by Kagome's fight with Manten to notice Inuyasha sneaking up on him until it was too late to get away. Inuyasha snatched him up by the back of his shirt. "Alright, brat, hand them over."

"Hey, let go!" he said, trying to squirm out of Inuyasha's grip.

"Those jewel shards are mine!" Manten yelled. He opened his jaws wide and shot a glowing beam of light at them. Inuyasha's eyes widened; there was no way he could dodge it.

But then Kagome was between them, and she used Tetsusaiga to block the attack. _Whoa,_ Inuyasha thought. _That actually looked really cool._

"Inuyasha, take the kid and get out of here!" Kagome said.

Inuyasha bristled, though he did tuck the brat protectively under his arm, and to his surprise the kid didn't try to get away. "No way am I leaving you, Kagome!"

Manten blasted energy at them again, but Kagome was able to deflect it. "Then at least get out of the line of fire!" Kagome yelled at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha could see the sense of that, and took off running back towards the trees where he'd have at least a little cover. _Dang it, I should have brought the bow and arrows Kaede offered me._ He'd only had a few lessons with it so he wasn't very good yet which was why he hadn't bothered to bring it, preferring the staff Sensei had given him. But a bow would have been really useful in this fight; now instead of contributing he was relegated to just staying out of the way.

_I hate feeling useless!_

Inuyasha ducked behind a tree and then looked back to see how Kagome was doing. He was slightly surprised to see that she had the advantage, but then realized that he shouldn't be. Manten did have powerful energy blasts, but he didn't have a weapon with him, and his energy blasts weren't any good for blocking the Tetsusaiga. Kagome pressed her advantage, attacking quickly and fiercely. It wasn't long before Manten was unable to dodge and Kagome landed a killing blow. Still holding the kid to make sure he didn't run off with their jewel shards, Inuyasha approached Kagome as the Tetsusaiga shrank down to its usual, unassuming form.

Inuyasha couldn't help but cringe just a little at the sight of Manten's dead body. He didn't consider himself squeamish by any means, but he still wasn't used to seeing dead bodies. He was immediately distracted though when the kid in his arms whimpered, his green eyes glued to the fox fur around Manten's waist.

"That's your father's fur?" Kagome asked softly.

The fox demon looked up at her and blinked back tears. "Yeah…The Thunder Brothers killed him…"

Kagome nodded as though she'd expected that answer. She probably had; Inuyasha had been expecting it too. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Shippo," the kid replied.

Kagome knelt down and untied the pelt from Manten's waist. "Well then, Shippo, what do you say we lay your father to rest properly?"

Shippo looked up at her with wide eyes. "You'll help me do that?"

Kagome smiled at him. "Yes, we will."

"Don't forget to get his jewel shards," Inuyasha said, nodding towards Manten's corpse. Kagome leaned back down and dug the fragments out of Manten's forehead, which was just a little gross, but Inuyasha wasn't about to say anything about that. She handed them over to Inuyasha who tucked them in his pocket. Inuyasha then scowled down at Shippo. "You'll need to return the shards you took from us as well."

Shippo hesitated just a moment, but then he reached into his vest and pulled out all of the jewel shards. "Here you go."

Inuyasha took them and stuck them in his pocket as well. _I need to get something to keep all the pieces in, like a baggie or something._ He made a mental note to look for something like that when he got home.

Kagome led the way away from Manten, and Inuyasha followed, still holding Shippo. He knew he didn't really need to keep holding him since Inuyasha had the jewel shards back, but Shippo wasn't trying to get down and it wasn't like the kid was heavy. Inuyasha figured it might be okay to carry him, just this once.

"Is there a special place you'd like to bury him?" Kagome asked.

Shippo shook his head. "No, no special place. But we might need to hurry," he added. "Manten has an older brother, Hiten, and once he finds out that Manten is dead he's sure to come after us."

"Does this older brother have shards as well?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah," Shippo said, "and he's more powerful than Manten. He'd be a lot harder to defeat."

"Well, if he has jewel shards we'll have to try," Kagome said.

"You're collecting jewel shards?" Shippo asked. "How come?"

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha, who winced. "Erm, it's sort of my job to protect the jewel from anyone who'd misuse it," Inuyasha said. "But, um, I kind of broke it. So now I have to find all the jewel shards and Kagome is helping me."

Shippo tilted his head back so he could look up at Inuyasha with wide eyes. "Why would you do something stupid like that?"

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched as he glared down at him. "It was an accident, okay! I thought it was more durable! Keep talking like that and I'll drop you, you little brat!"

"Shippo," Kagome said before they could keep arguing, "is this a good spot?"

Inuyasha and Shippo looked around. They were in a secluded little field that was dotted with wildflowers. It was a pretty place, with almost a park like feel to it.

"Yeah," Shippo said, squirming out of Inuyasha's grip.

"How are we going to dig a grave?" Inuyasha asked. "We don't have any shovels."

"I can take care of that," Shippo said. He pulled out one of his leaves and slapped it on a stick he found on the ground. There was a puff of smoke and when it cleared the stick had transformed into a wooden shovel.

Inuyasha reached for it, but Kagome shoved the fur she'd been carrying into his arms instead. "Hold this and I'll dig the grave," she said. "Your shoulder is still hurt, so you shouldn't be doing work like this."

Inuyasha grumbled a bit, but he didn't put up a fight because he knew she was right. So he sat down to wait, trying not to think too hard about the fur in his lap. Shippo sat down beside him, his eyes glued to his father's pelt.

Suddenly, Myoga appeared on Shippo's shoulder. "Hello, young one," he said. "I'm afraid we haven't been introduced yet. I'm Myoga, Kagome's retainer."

"Oh, hello," Shippo said. "I'm Shippo."

Inuyasha glared down at the flea demon. "Myoga, where have you been?"

Myoga looked offended. "Why, Inuyasha, I don't appreciate that tone. I've been here the whole time."

"Sure you have," Inuyasha scoffed. "You little coward, you disappear at the first sign of a fight!"

"I am not a coward!" Myoga protested.

But Inuyasha quit paying attention to Myoga's protests when he noticed how Shippo had gone back to staring at his father's fur. Inuyasha could see the look of despair in Shippo's eyes, and his heart went out to him. Inuyasha's own father had died in a car accident when Inuyasha was seven and just before Souta had been born. Even though he'd been young, Inuyasha could still remember in perfect detail everything that had happened on the day he'd found out his father was dead, and he knew how much losing a parent hurt. No young child should have to deal with that pain.

"Hey," Inuyasha said suddenly, gaining Shippo's attention. "Where's your mother?"

Shippo shrugged. "She died years ago. It was just me and Father."

So Shippo was an orphan. Inuyasha knew how awful losing one parent was; he could imagine the misery of losing both parents. Comforting people wasn't really Inuyasha's area of expertise, but he felt like he should say something at least. "My father died in an accident when I was young," Inuyasha said. He glanced over at Kagome who was still busy digging the grave. "Kagome's lost both of her parents as well." He looked back down at Shippo. "I just mean, well, we understand how it feels."

Tears welled up in Shippo's eyes and slowly trickled down his face. Then all at once it was as if Shippo couldn't contain himself anymore, and burying his face in his face in his father's fur, he sobbed. Inuyasha patted Shippo's back in a comforting gesture; he might not like to deal with tears, but having a scaredy-cat little brother like Souta meant Inuyasha had had to deal with them more than once.

A few minutes later Shippo's tears had calmed some, and Kagome jumped out of the hole she had dug. Kagome walked over to them and knelt down by them. She sent Shippo a sympathetic and understanding look and said, "It's ready, Shippo."

Shippo sat up and scrubbed at his eyes. "Okay. Let's finish this."

They all stood and Inuyasha carefully lowered the pelt into the grave. There was a moment of silence, and then Shippo said, "I'm going to look for a marker for his grave while you fill it in."

"Do you want any company?" Kagome asked.

Shippo shook his head. "No. I'll do this much on my own."

They nodded in agreement and Shippo wandered off. Once he was out of sight Kagome began filling in the grave. "Inuyasha," she said as she worked, "I think we should bring him with us. He's all alone, and we can't just leave him like this."

Inuyasha thought of Souta, and how he would feel if his little brother had been left in a situation like Shippo was in. "Yeah," he said. "I think you're right."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Myoga spoke up from Inuyasha's shoulder. "Chasing after the jewel shards mean we will run into many dangerous situations, and it might be better if Shippo isn't involved in them."

Kagome glared at him, her golden eyes flashing with anger. "That's preferable to being left alone!"

Inuyasha realized that Kagome could probably identify with Shippo's situation even more than he could. Kagome had also been orphaned at a young age, left with no one to care for her, unless one counted Sesshomaru which Inuyasha vehemently _didn't_. The situation Shippo was in probably hit very close to home for her.

Perhaps realizing the same thing Inuyasha did, Myoga dipped his head in apology. "Forgive me; you are correct. We will bring him along."

Kagome finished filling in the grave, and Shippo then reappeared, rolling a stone that was nearly as large as he was. Shippo settled it at the head of his father's grave and then stepped back. Staring at the grave, Inuyasha could just hear Shippo whisper, "I'll be strong for you, Father. Just like you wanted me to be."

_And Kagome and I will help him_, Inuyasha vowed silently. _We'll take care of him for you._

Was it Inuyasha's imagination, or did he actually see the ghostly image of a fox for the briefest second? Either way he could feel goose bumps forming on his skin, and he knew with a sudden, bone deep certainty that Shippo's father was going to hold him to that promise.

Lightning tore through the sky back in the direction they'd left Manten's body, one bolt after another for nearly a full minute.

"It looks like Hiten found his brother's body," Myoga said. "He'll be tracking us down now."

Kagome started back in that direction, calling over her shoulder, "Inuyasha, you stay here with Shippo. I'll go handle Hiten."

"I'm not letting you fight him by yourself," Inuyasha said.

Kagome turned and looked at him sternly. "Inuyasha, your shoulder is hurt. You'll only get in the way if you come with me."

Inuyasha's whole body tensed with indignation at her words, but the simple act of tensing up sent a twinge of pain through his shoulder, proving her words correct. Once again Inuyasha wished he'd brought the bow with him, but he honestly wasn't sure if he'd be able to draw it properly with his shoulder hurt like this.

"Please, Inuyasha," Kagome said before he could argue.

Inuyasha nodded stiffly. "Fine. We'll wait here."

Kagome smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Then she dashed off as Inuyasha muttered, "Who's worried?" But despite his words he couldn't bring himself to sit as he waited for Kagome to return.

* * *

Kagome hoped she hadn't offended Inuyasha by her blunt speech, but there wasn't time for her to be delicate in this situation. She set the worry aside; she needed to be able to focus on the fight that was about to happen. Once she had been sure Inuyasha and Shippo wouldn't be caught in the crossfire Manten had been easy enough to deal with; Kagome was certain that the fight with Hiten would not be so simple.

She hadn't quite made it all the way back to Manten's body when a powerful demonic aura washed over her. In the sky a demon appeared that she assumed was Hiten. The demon's face, which was probably normally quite handsome, was twisted with rage as he floated in the sky thanks to the assistance of two small wheels floating by his feet that emitted jets of flame. He pointed at her with his pike. "You! Are you the one who slew my brother and stole his jewel shards?"

Kagome drew the Tetsusaiga in preparation for the attack she knew was coming. "I am."

"How dare you?" Hiten cried.

Kagome scoffed. "With as many as you and your brother have murdered, I don't think you have any room to talk."

Hiten threw his pike at her. She dodged the pike, but she wasn't expecting the explosion of lightning that followed when it touched the ground. The blast hit her hard, knocking her back. She landed on the ground with enough force to cause her to lose her grip on the Tetsusaiga and the sword flew from her hand. Kagome quickly got back to her feet as the pike flew back to Hitan's hand. As soon as it was in his hand Hiten flew down to attack her, leaving Kagome no time to even spot where the Tetsusaiga had gone, much less to grab it. Acting on desperate instinct alone, Kagome drew her sheath and used it to block the pike. To her surprise, it actually worked to hold the weapon off.

"Just how long do you think that will stop me, half breed?" Hiten snarled.

Kagome's temper flared at the derogatory tone of voice he used, but Kagome wondered the same thing as she strained to hold off the deadly pike with her sheath. Positioned as he was floating above her, Kagome couldn't hope to throw him off. The best she could do was keep this stalemate going, and that wouldn't last forever.

Unexpectedly, Kagome felt the sheath pulse. A moment later the Tetsusaiga flew back into the sheath. Taking a risk, Kagome shifted her grip and drew the sword, slashing at Hiten. Unfortunately she didn't move quite quickly enough, and his pike sliced across her chest before he was forced to dodge her swing. Kagome hissed with pain but didn't focus on her wound; while painful it was fairly shallow, so she could afford to ignore it.

_As long as he can fly, I'm at a disadvantage,_ Kagome thought. _I need to destroy those wheels he uses to fly if I want to have any hope of defeating him._

A target in mind, Kagome didn't wait for Hiten to attack again but jumped at him. He flew backwards and raised his pike as though expecting her to swing for his head. It caught him off guard then when Kagome swung at his feet. One of the wheels shattered upon contact with the Tetsusaiga, but Hiten moved out of the way before she could relieve him of a foot as well. One wheel alone wasn't enough to support him, so he fell to the ground. His landing was rough and his back was to Kagome, so she took advantage of his moment of distraction to stab him through the heart.

Hiten's body jerked with pain, and his red eyes widened with disbelief. "No," he rasped. "I can't have lost; not to this half breed."

His eyes glazed over and his body slumped down dead. Kagome grimly withdrew her sword from his back and it shrank back down to its more inconspicuous size so she could sheath it. Kagome gathered the jewel shards from his forehead and started back to where Inuyasha, Myoga, and Shippo were waiting for her.

"You had so much power," she said to herself, thinking of Hiten and Manten, "but all you could do with it was hurt people. Such a waste."

When she got back to the field where she had left the three of them, she found Inuyasha pacing back and forth while Shippo sat beside his father's grave watching him. Inuyasha whirled around to face her when he realized she was there and looked alarmed when he saw the blood on her clothes.

"You're hurt!" he said.

"It's nothing," Kagome said. It still hurt, but the bleeding had already stopped. "Really; I heal differently than humans do. By morning it'll be completely gone."

Inuyasha didn't look convinced. "Really?"

"It's true," Shippo piped up. "Demons and half demons heal a lot faster than humans."

Inuyasha didn't argue anymore, but he didn't really look happy either. Kagome felt bad for him; he was probably upset that he hadn't been able to help at all during her fights with Manten and Hiten, but given the fact that he was injured he would have been more of a hindrance than a help this time.

"Here, Inuyasha," she said, handing over the jewel shards she had taken from Hiten.

Inuyasha took them without comment and stuck them in his pocket.

"Well," Kagome said, trying to lighten the mood, "it looks like we have a few more hours of daylight. I think we should travel a little longer before we make camp tonight."

Kagome noticed how Shippo suddenly looked uncertain. Inuyasha must have seen it too, because before Kagome could invite Shippo to go along with them, he snatched him up by the back of his shirt using his good arm and started unceremoniously carrying him off. "Well, come on," Inuyasha said as he did so. "We aren't going to wait around on you, brat."

Kagome smiled when she saw the happiness on Shippo's face as he realized he was going to come with them. "I won't slow you down, I promise," he said fervently.

"Keh, you'd better not, or we'll leave you behind," Inuyasha said, but his gruff tone was belied by the way he shifted his hold so that Shippo was comfortably settled in the crook of his arm.

Kagome couldn't help but chuckle a little at the sight. Inuyasha glared at her as if daring her to comment. Not wanting his pride to force him into putting Shippo down, Kagome wisely chose not to say anything.


	7. Chapter 7

Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask

Part 1

The two days it took to travel back to Kaede's village didn't feel that long despite the constant walking. This was, in large part, due to the presence of Shippo, who had proved to be vastly entertaining, if sometimes a little annoying. For whatever reason he seemed incredibly taken with Inuyasha, choosing to frequently catch a ride on Inuyasha's uninjured shoulder, though he soon warmed up to Kagome as well. In truth, Inuyasha didn't mind the way Shippo stuck so close to him, as it wasn't unlike what he dealt with at home with Souta. When Shippo found out that Myoga was teaching Inuyasha about demons, he eagerly joined in the discussions sharing what he knew with Inuyasha as well.

It wasn't until they'd made it to the outskirts of the village that it occurred to Inuyasha that the villagers might not appreciate them bringing a fox demon into their home. They tolerated Kagome's presence, meaning they mostly ignored her and she stayed out of their way, but Shippo wasn't even half human.

_Just let someone say something,_ Inuyasha growled to himself. _I dare them_.

They did receive some surprised and suspicious glances from people when they noticed Shippo perched on Inuyasha's shoulders, but no one said anything. Whether that was because of the respect they gave Inuyasha as Kikyo's reincarnation, or from fear of Kagome, Inuyasha didn't know and he didn't really care to find out.

When they made it to Kaede's hut, the old priestess was waiting to greet them. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of Shippo, but all she said was, "I see you have made a new friend."

"Yeah," Inuyasha said. "This is Shippo; he's staying with us now. Shippo, this is Kaede."

Shippo nodded his head politely. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Kaede said. "Come on in. Supper is just about ready, and you must tell me how your trip went."

They all went inside and settled down. As Kaede served them all dinner, Inuyasha told her of everything that had happened, with occasional interjections by Kagome, Myoga, and Shippo. When Kaede found out Inuyasha had been hurt, she insisted on seeing the injury for herself. After examining it she said, "Well, it seems to be healing nicely. The healer who tended it knew what she was doing. In a few days I expect it will be back to normal."

"That's good to hear," Inuyasha said.

"So, what are your plans now?" Kaede asked.

"I think I'm going to head back home tonight," Inuyasha said. "I've been gone a week so I'm sure Mom is starting to worry, not to mention all the school I've missed and need to catch up on. I'll probably stay there a couple days and let my shoulder finish healing before I come back."

Kaede nodded. "That is probably wise."

"Is your village near here?" Shippo asked curiously.

"Sort of," Inuyasha replied. "I actually live about five hundred years in the future. There's a magic well in the woods nearby that lets me travel between my time and this time."

Shippo looked awed for a moment and then suspicious. "You're kidding. Nothing like that could actually exist."

Inuyasha grinned at him. "Want to bet?" He stood and then bowed a little in Kaede's direction. "Thank you for the food. I'll see you in a few days."

He went outside and headed off in the direction of the Bone Eater's Well, followed closely by Kagome and Shippo. "Inuyasha," Kagome said, "I know we had talked about me going to your time to meet your sensei, but maybe we should postpone that trip."

Inuyasha realized what she wasn't saying; that she didn't want to leave Shippo all alone during his first time at the village. "Yeah, okay," Inuyasha agreed casually. He figured it was probably best if Shippo didn't realize that Kagome was staying solely for his benefit.

"Can I travel to your time?" Shippo asked eagerly.

"I thought you didn't believe it worked," Kagome teased.

"Oh, well," sputtered Shippo, "I don't! But, well, if it does, can I come?"

"I'm not sure if you can," Inuyasha said. "I mean, it works for me, and it works for Kagome, but if it worked for just everyone, wouldn't more people have time travelled already?"

"How many people actually jump down dry wells?" Kagome pointed out.

"True," Inuyasha said. "And I guess there isn't any reason for it to work for just the two of us and no one else. If it works for you though, Shippo, I don't see why you couldn't visit my time."

"I would enjoy visiting as well," Myoga said. "It would be interesting to see what the world is like in five hundred years."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not? Everyone can come and we'll just throw a party."

By this time they had made it to the well. Shippo hopped onto the edge and peered down. "It looks like a normal dry well to me," he said doubtfully.

"Looks can be deceiving I guess," Kagome said.

Inuyasha grinned at Shippo. "Well, let's see if it works for you. Follow me!" Inuyasha hopped down the well, and the lights rose to greet him, slowing his descent. Moments later his body settled on the bottom of the well. Inuyasha looked around but didn't see Shippo. "Huh, I guess he couldn't get through."

Using the rope that Souta and Gramps had left hanging for him the first time he'd climbed out of the well, Inuyasha made his way to the top. The strain on his shoulder was painful, but not unbearable. Once he reached the top, he decided to jump back down so he could check that Shippo was still actually in the past where he was supposed to be.

A few moments later he was back and he could hear Shippo complaining to Kagome at the top of the well. "I don't get it! Inuyasha disappeared, but why didn't I?"

"Hey!" Inuyasha called, and the two poked their heads over the edge of the well. "What happened?"

"He couldn't get through," Kagome said. "He just landed on the bottom while you vanished."

Inuyasha frowned. "So only the two of us can use the well. I wonder why."

"It is confusing," Kagome agreed. "I would say it had something to do with the jewel, but that wouldn't explain why I was able to go through it before when I didn't have any jewel shards on me."

"Perhaps," Myoga mused from Kagome's shoulder, "the well chooses who it allows through?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Chooses? You mean this thing is alive?"

"Well, not alive per se," Myoga said. "But it is a very old well. It is possible it has developed some level of sentience over time."

A sentient well that controlled time and could pick and choose who it sent back and forth through it; that sounded like some sort of badly written sci-fi story to Inuyasha, and he wasn't sure that he cared for it.

"Of course this is only a guess," Myoga added. "I could be completely wrong."

Putting the matter out of his mind for now, Inuyasha said, "Well, I guess I'd better get back for real this time." Of course to get back he needed to jump down the well again, which meant he needed to climb to the top once more, a prospect that Inuyasha didn't relish. The pain from climbing up wouldn't be unbearable, but he didn't think he should really be putting this much strain on his shoulder.

"Would you like me to carry you up since your shoulder is still hurt?" Kagome asked.

"I can do it myself!" Inuyasha said, his words coming out a bit sharper than he'd meant them to.

Kagome looked offended at his tone. "Well, fine then!" she snapped, and her face disappeared from the patch of sky he could see.

Gritting his teeth Inuyasha used the vines to help himself climb up. He could deal with the pain if it meant Kagome wasn't going to carry him. When he reached the top he was too irritated to bother saying goodbye, so he just hopped down the well. When he landed in his own time he groaned as he realized he was going to have to climb the rope again.

"We should get a rope ladder for this thing," Inuyasha grumbled. "At least then I wouldn't be straining my arms so much." Of course if he hadn't been hurt this wouldn't really be an issue in the first place. Deciding it was better to get the ordeal over with than sit at the bottom of the well, Inuyasha climbed out. His shoulder hurt worse this time than it had the previous two times. After he climbed out of the well he took a moment to check and make sure he hadn't reopened his wound, and was relieved to find he hadn't. Wouldn't that freak his family out, for him to come home bleeding?

Inuyasha made his way to the house, and as soon as he was past the front door called out, "I'm home!"

There was some scrambling from within the house and then his family members were there to greet him. "Inuyasha, you're back!" Souta cried happily as he dove forward to wrap his arms around Inuyasha's waist. Inuyasha grunted a little at the impact, but didn't resist the hug.

"I'm glad you're home," his mother said with a smile. "I was beginning to worry a little."

"I'm alright," Inuyasha said breezily.

"Did you collect more of the jewel shards?" Gramps asked.

"Sure did," Inuyasha said, patting his pocket where they were stored.

"Did you have cool adventures getting them?" Souta asked eagerly. "Will you tell me about them?"

"Sure thing," Inuyasha said, mentally cursing himself for not having expected this request. He hadn't really planned to tell them about his adventures as he was sure the dangers he'd faced would only make them worry more when he was gone and he didn't want that. But he should have realized that Souta would want details of his trip; if he had he might have been able to think up edited versions of the events beforehand, but as it was he had to wing it.

As a result of this, once they were settled into the living room so Inuyasha could tell them his stories, there did end up being some fairly large holes where Inuyasha tried to leave out the worst of the details. Souta didn't notice, but Inuyasha knew that Gramps and his mom were too smart not to, and they likely realized that acquiring the shards that he now had had been much more dangerous than he was letting on. Of course neither of them said anything as they wouldn't want to upset Souta with such talk any more than Inuyasha did.

"By the way," Inuyasha said his stories drew to a close, "do we have a little jar with a lid or a bag or something that I can use to store the jewel shards in? I think that might be better than just keeping them loose in my pocket."

"Of course," his mom said, hopping up out of the chair she'd been settled in. "I think I have just the thing, if you'll give me a moment."

"It sounds like you have such cool adventures over there," Souta said wistfully. "I wish I could go there."

Inuyasha thought of the demons he had faced there, like Mistress Centipede, Yura, and the toad demon that had possessed the Lord, and felt a chill. He knew without a doubt that the past was the last place he wanted Souta to go. The well hadn't worked for Shippo, and Inuyasha sincerely hoped it never worked for Souta either.

"Please," Inuyasha scoffed while ruffling Souta's hair and trying to sound lighthearted. "You wouldn't last five minutes there before you were crying to come home."

Souta shoved his hand away and glared defiantly. "I wouldn't cry!"

Inuyasha's reply was cut off by Mrs. Higurashi's return. "Here you go, Inuyasha," she said, handing him a small glass jar with a lid on it.

"Thanks, Mom, this is perfect," Inuyasha said, pulling the fragments of the jewel he had out of his pocket and moving them to the jar. As he did so he yawned widely, the days of travel catching up to him finally.

"Oh, you must be so tired after all you've done," Mrs. Higurashi said. "Why don't you go take a bath and head to bed dear? Will you be going to school tomorrow?"

Inuyasha grimaced at the idea of school. He'd missed a week of it and wasn't looking forward to the makeup work he would no doubt need to start tackling. He supposed he could always take it with him when he went back for more jewel hunting, but he couldn't see how he could realistically expect to get any of it done. "I guess I'd better go," he said. "I'll be far enough behind as it is. I'll go to Sensei's after school as well," he added. At least this time Sensei wouldn't be mad at him since Inuyasha had been able to warn him that he was going to be gone for a while. It would also be nice to see his friends, well, friend, after all this time, even if Inuyasha wasn't willing to admit that fact out loud.

Following his mom's orders, Inuyasha soaked in a bath for a while before going to bed. The hot water was a wonderful relief to his shoulder. Inuyasha hadn't mentioned his injury when he told his stories because it was supposed to be better in a few days, and the knowledge would only serve to worry them. Unfortunately, he realized that he would have to tell Sensei about it tomorrow, given that his normal practice sessions would probably be too intense for it, and Inuyasha didn't want to slow down the healing process at all if he could help it.

Finally Inuyasha got out and as he dried off he caught sight of himself and frowned. His hair was starting to grow past his shoulders just a bit, meaning he would have to get it trimmed. "Stupid school dress code," Inuyasha muttered. He didn't see why they had such a double standard about hair length; after all, if the girls were allowed to cut their hair as short as they wanted, why wasn't he allowed to have long hair? Inuyasha liked long hair.

Inuyasha went to his room and flopped down on his bed with a happy sigh. He'd never say it out loud because he didn't want to seem like a wimp, but he'd missed his mattress this past week.

* * *

It almost felt weird to be walking up to the school after his week in the Feudal Era. Somehow studying things like history, algebra, and literature just didn't seem quite as important after the things he'd seen and dealt with in the past.

_Guess I won't be hunting shards forever, though, so an education is still important._

Although he wasn't convinced he would ever need to use algebra in his day to day life, despite his teacher's assurances that it would come in handy one day.

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha turned to greet his best friend with a grin. "Hey, Hojo!"

The friendship between Inuyasha and Hojo was looked at as a strange thing by many, because the two were so different from each other. Hojo was always nice and got along well with people, he was a straight A student, and nearly every girl in school had a crush on him. Inuyasha was gruff on his best days, downright mean on his worst, a decent student but hardly brilliant, and most of the girls in school found him intimidating or just flat out didn't like him. Inuyasha and Hojo probably never even would have spoken to each other if Inuyasha hadn't seen bullies picking on him back when they'd been in elementary school. Inuyasha had come to Hojo's defense and they'd been inseparable since, and despite their differences, or perhaps because of them, the friendship worked for them.

Hojo grinned back. "I'm glad to see you're here Inuyasha. You've missed over a week of school; that's going to be hard to catch up on."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, he'd only been gone a week, but then he closed it when he realized that his math had been bad. He'd missed two days of school the first time he'd been pulled through the well, and then it had been the weekend, so he'd come home Sunday night, and then he'd gone back Monday morning for his week long trip.

_Crap, I'm father behind than I thought._

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head. "Think I can get copies of your notes after school?"

"Sure, under one condition," Hojo replied, surprising Inuyasha a bit. Hojo didn't normally put conditions on his favors. "Explain how you threw out your back, developed bunions, gout, and some unpronounceable infectious disease that I'm pretty sure doesn't actually exist. And of course how you recovered from all this in about a week and a half." He threw Inuyasha a look. "Do you even know what gout is?"

Inuyasha's jaw dropped. "Who told you all that?"

"Your grandfather," Hojo said.

Inuyasha groaned. "Great. Just great. Couldn't he have said I had the flu or something?" He groaned again as a terrible thought occurred to him. "If that's what he told you, what did he tell the school?"

"Probably the same thing," Hojo said, displaying absolutely no sympathy. "So, what was really going on? Why weren't you coming to school, and why wasn't I even allowed to visit you?"

Inuyasha grimaced. How could he tell Hojo the truth without seeming crazy? Sure, he'd managed to convince Sensei, but the man had an uncanny ability to tell whether or not a person was lying. There was no way Hojo would believe what was really going on, and Gramps' ridiculous stories had ruined any easy lie Inuyasha might have come up with about being sick.

The warning bell rang, saving Inuyasha from having to reply. "I'll tell you later," he said, and they had to rush to class.

Despite the fact that he was far behind and really needed to pay attention so he could start catching up, Inuyasha couldn't concentrate in class. He was too busy trying to think up a believable excuse that he could give Hojo. He considered telling Hojo that Gramps was a pathological liar, but had to discard that idea. They'd been friends for so many years now that Hojo knew Inuyasha's family well enough to know that would be a lie also. Unfortunately, Inuyasha couldn't come up with any excuse that Gramps wouldn't have been willing to tell Hojo if it had actually been true. So it was that when lunch time rolled around, Inuyasha had no story prepared to tell him.

Hojo scooted his desk over against Inuyasha's when it was time for lunch, just as he did every day. "Okay, talk," Hojo said. "What's going on?"

Inuyasha sighed. As he hadn't been able to come up with a convincing lie he had no choice but to tell the truth. He just hoped Hojo wouldn't think he was completely crazy.

"Inuyasha Higurashi."

Inuyasha and Hojo both started at the sound of Inuyasha's name. He looked over at the doorway to find his homeroom teacher Ms. Hanajima Sato standing there. "Come with me, Inuyasha," Ms. Sato said.

Dread pooled in Inuyasha's stomach. It didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going. "Wish me luck," he muttered to Hojo, and then he got up and followed Ms. Sato out into the hall. Ms. Sato wasn't a mean teacher, but she was strict, and if Gramps had given her the same sort of excuses that he'd given Hojo, well, Inuyasha could just imagine the interrogation he was in for.

She led him to one of the teacher offices, which was basically a large room with about ten desks shoved inside. Ms. Sato sat at her desk, the very picture of a stern teacher, with her brown hair pulled back into a severe bun, dark, practical clothes, and glasses perched on the edge of her nose. She could have been pretty if she hadn't been quite so serious. She motioned for Inuyasha to take a seat in a spare chair. "I'm sure you know what this is about," Ms. Sato said, adjusting her glasses over her hazel eyes. "You've missed over a week of school, Inuyasha. I called your house and spoke with your grandfather, who insisted you were suffering from ailments that are very unusual for someone your age." She arched one thin eyebrow at him. "How are your bunions?

Inuyasha cringed, struggling to figure out a way to reply. With a flash of inspiration, he realized that Ms. Sato didn't know his family like Hojo did, so the lies that wouldn't work with him might work on her. "I'm sorry you had to deal with him," Inuyasha said. "Our family doesn't like to talk about it, but I'm afraid Gramps is actually a pathological liar."

Both eyebrows went up. "Really?" she asked, disbelief coloring her voice.

Inuyasha nodded, struggling to keep a straight face and hold eye contact. "Yes ma'am. If you need to call my house ever, you should probably ask to speak to my mother."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ms. Sato said. "Now then, why were you out?"

"I had the flu," Inuyasha said. Best to keep his excuse simple.

"I see," she said slowly. "Well, I'm sure you'll understand that I need a doctor's note."

"You do?" Inuyasha asked with some alarm.

"I do," Ms. Sato said. "I understand if you don't have it right now, but I'm sure it won't be hard for you to get. After all, having been so sick with the flu, you would have had to go to the doctor. Unless something else happened this week?" she asked pointedly.

Inuyasha realized then that he was sunk. She obviously didn't believe him, and while he might consider telling Hojo the truth, there was no way he was telling Ms. Sato. There was a chance Hojo might actually believe him by virtue of their years of friendship. Ms. Sato was sure to either call him a liar or recommend psychiatric help. He had to get his hands on a doctor's note, but how? After all, he hadn't actually been to the doctor. But he didn't have any way to back out of his story now.

"No, nothing else happened," Inuyasha said. "I'll get the note for you."

She stared at him for a moment, causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Finally she nodded. "Very well. Go on back to class before lunch is over."

"Yes, ma'am," Inuyasha said, relieved to be escaping scrutiny for now. He quickly walked back to the classroom.

"How'd it go?" Hojo asked.

"I told her I had the flu and she wants a doctor's note," Inuyasha said.

"How did you explain Gramps' stories?" Hojo asked.

"Um," Inuyasha said. Now that he thought about it he kind of felt bad for saying Gramps was a liar, because he really wasn't, as evidenced by his terrible attempts at covering for Inuyasha. _It's his own fault for coming up with such dumb cover stories,_ he told himself. "I might have said he's a pathological liar."

"Inuyasha!" Hojo said looking upset.

"Well what was I supposed to say?" Inuyasha snapped.

"How about the truth?" Hojo suggested sharply.

Inuyasha sighed. "Look, I promise I'll tell you everything. Then you'll understand why I couldn't tell Ms. Sato. But it's a long story and lunch is almost over, so let me eat. I'll tell you after school."

"Fine," Hojo said leaning back in his desk chair. "I'm going to hold you to that promise."

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha grumbled, digging out his lunch box.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. When the day ended Inuyasha collected the piles of makeup work he had to do and then he and Hojo left the school and started out towards Sensei's dojo. Hojo didn't take any classes there, but Inuyasha trained with Sensei every day after school.

As they walked Inuyasha told Hojo everything, about getting dragged down the well, finding Kagome, what had happened with the Shikon Jewel. He explained how it was his responsibility to go back to the Feudal Era and hunt down the shards so that the demons there couldn't use them for evil.

He finished when they were almost at Sensei's. Nervously, he glanced over at Hojo. Inuyasha knew that the story sounded insane, and if their positions had been reversed he wasn't sure if he would have believed Hojo.

"You're really serious about all this?" Hojo asked.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said.

"Well," Hojo said slowly, "I guess that does explain why you couldn't tell Ms. Sato the truth. She probably wouldn't have believed you."

"You believe me?" Inuyasha asked.

"No offense, Inuyasha, but you aren't a very creative liar," Hojo said. "I don't really think you could have come up with all those details if it hadn't actually happened."

Inuyasha frowned, unsure whether or not to take offense at that particular sentiment.

"I guess this means you're going to absent quite a bit from school," Hojo said.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice. I'm the only one who can sense the jewel shards, and it's my fault it got broken in the first place."

"You would think magical artifacts would be more durable," Hojo mused.

"See! That's what I said!" Inuyasha replied. By this time they had reached the gate to Sensei's property. Before Inuyasha could say goodbye to Hojo and make his way inside, the gate swung open to show Sensei, his face grim.

"Inuyasha, your mother just called," Sensei told him. "She said there was an accident back at the Shrine and your grandfather was injured."

Sensei looked as though he might say more, but Inuyasha didn't bother to wait and hear it. He just dropped his backpack and took off at a dead sprint for home, deaf to Hojo's calls for him to wait. Adrenaline pumped through him as images of Gramps badly injured or maybe dying rushed through his head. _Please be okay, Gramps! Please!_

He was alarmed when he got close to home and saw the plume of smoke going in the sky, and even more so when he got close enough to see the fire trucks and police cars parked on the street in front of the steps that led up to Higurashi Shrine. Inuyasha jumped over the ropes the cops had used to cordon off the space in front of the steps and ignored yells for him to stop as he sprinted up the steps.

When he made it to the top of the steps he spotted his mother who looked surprised to see him. "Inuyasha, I didn't expect you to get here so quickly!"

Panting, Inuyasha asked, "Gramps, is he okay?"

"He'll be fine, dear," Mrs. Higurashi said. "One of the storage sheds caught on fire and he got trapped under a beam. He suffered some smoke inhalation, but with rest he should be okay. I'm heading to the hospital to sit with him, but I need you to stay here and wait for Souta so he doesn't worry."

"Right," Inuyasha said. "When Souta gets here do you want us to meet you at the hospital?"

"If you want, that'll be fine," Mrs. Higurashi said. "Now I've got to go."

Only moments after she disappeared down the steps, Hojo came up them holding Inuyasha's backpack. "Thanks," Inuyasha said, taking it from him.

"No problem," Hojo said. "Is Gramps okay?"

"Yeah, Mom says he'll be fine, but they did have to take him to the hospital," Inuyasha said.

"Inuyasha, Inuyasha!" Souta yelled, running up the steps, panicked tears in his eyes. Inuyasha had to catch him by the shoulders to keep Souta from running into him. "What happened?"

"It's okay," Inuyasha said, trying to keep his tone reassuring for his brother's sake. "There was a fire in one of the storage sheds. Gramps breathed in some smoke, that's all, but they took him to the hospital to make sure he's okay."

"Can we go to the hospital to check on him?" Souta asked.

"Of course," Inuyasha said, but his words were drowned out by sudden screams from the street. The three boys ran halfway down the steps so they could see what was going on, and were in time to see one of the fire trucks ram a cop car out of its way and take off down the street. Unexpectedly, Inuyasha felt the familiar tug of a jewel shard coming from within the truck. "No way," he said.

"Did someone just steal that fire truck?" Hojo asked.

"Whoever took it has a jewel shard!" Inuyasha said.

"But how?" Souta asked. "The only jewel shards here are the ones you have."

"Oh crap," Inuyasha said and rushed back to his house. He was relieved when he got to his room and found the jar of jewel shards exactly where he'd left it on his dresser. He snatched it up and shoved it in his pocket for safe keeping. "I guess I don't have the only jewel shards here." He didn't know how that was possible, but apparently it was.

_I have to stop whoever has that shard._

"Hojo, can you do me a favor and stay with Souta until I get back?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sure," Hojo said, frowning with worry. "But what are you doing?"

Inuyasha snatched up his staff. "Going for help!" he said as he left the house again and started jogging back towards Sensei's dojo.


	8. Chapter 8

Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask

Part 2

Inuyasha was starting to wish he hadn't sprinted so much on his way home; his legs were already starting to feel a bit tired which was why he wouldn't let himself go any faster than a jog now. He needed to save some energy for the inevitable fight that was coming.

He made it to the dojo and entered with perhaps a little more force than necessary, especially since Sensei was in the middle of teaching a class. Actually, it was the class that Inuyasha himself was normally a part of, and he got quite a few stares.

Sensei stalked over to him glowering. "Sorry, Sensei," Inuyasha said quickly. "But it's an emergency."

"Your mother said your grandfather would be fine," Sensei said frowning deeply.

"It isn't about Gramps," Inuyasha said, and then stopped. Because so far nothing had happened involving jewel shards that didn't also involve Inuyasha somehow; what if whoever had the jewel shard was the one who had started the fire that had hurt Gramps? Besides, if it wasn't related to the fire, what were the chances that someone with a jewel shard would just happen to steal a fire truck from right in front of Inuyasha's house? "Oh, hell," Inuyasha said.

"Language," Sensei said sharply. Given Usagi's frequent proximity to the dojo, Sensei had a very strict no swearing policy.

"Sorry," Inuyasha said automatically. "Look, something has a jewel shard and it's loose in the city! I don't know what it is, if it's human or not, but it stole a fire truck and I think it might be what caused Gramps' accident. I have to stop it and get the shard, but I figured if I went after it by myself you'd probably kill me."

"You thought right," Sensei said. "Just wait a minute."

He went back in his dojo and spoke for a moment to his assistant. Then he ducked in his back room only to reappear a moment later with a sword tied to his waist. He walked past Inuyasha and said, "Let's go. We've got a fire truck to hunt down."

* * *

Souta paced in back and forth by the front door, throwing frequent worried glances in the direction of the city. He knew he couldn't expect Inuyasha back immediately, but after all that had happened today he was scared and worried that his big brother was going to get hurt.

"It'll be okay, Souta," Hojo said. "Inuyasha went to get Sensei's help after all, and you know how strong he is."

"Yeah, I guess," Souta said. "But Inuyasha says it's always demons that go after the jewel shards. What if it's a really powerful one?"

"No one has seen a demon in hundreds of years," Hojo pointed out. "This one must be pretty weak to have stayed unnoticed for so long."

"Or really strong," Souta muttered pessimistically. If only there was someone equally strong _here_ to fight the thing. Souta froze. "Of course!"

"Souta, where are you going?" Hojo called when the boy took off running.

Souta ignored him and dashed to the well house. It was dark and creepy and scary, but Inuyasha needed the help of someone even stronger than Sensei, and Souta had to get her! Souta jumped down the well just as Hojo made it to the door of the well house.

"Souta!" Hojo called out in alarm.

Souta landed on the bottom of the well, not quite hard enough to wind himself. "No, no, no!" Souta said. "Why can't I get through?"

"Souta, are you alright?" Hojo called from the top of the well.

He looked up at Hojo, tears threatening to pour down his face. "I can't get through! But I have to! I have to find Kagome! Inuyasha needs her help!"

Suddenly the bottom of the well glowed, and out from the ground floated a teenage girl with long silver hair, dog ears, and golden eyes.

"Kagome!" Souta cried, so relieved that he threw his arms around her waist and hugged her.

"Oh, um, hi," she said, clearly not having expected to be hugged. "You're Inuyasha's little brother. Souta, right? I heard you calling for me. What's wrong?"

Souta let go of her and said, "A demon has a jewel shard here, and it's rampaging around the city in a fire truck! Inuyasha went after it, but I'm sure he'll need help!"

"We don't know for sure that it's a demon," Hojo called down again, making Kagome's head snap up. "Hello," Hojo said. "I'm Hojo, Inuyasha's friend."

"I'm Kagome," she said. She picked Souta up and jumped out of the well, landing lightly on the ground and setting Souta down. Souta stared at her, in awe of the way she'd done what should have been an impossible feet so easily. "The situation sounds serious, so I'd better find Inuyasha. You two stay here where it's safe."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hojo asked. "You don't know the city."

"I don't need to," Kagome said. "I know Inuyasha's scent, and I'll be able to follow it where ever he went." She smiled down at Souta and patted his head, which was treatment he'd normally protest but couldn't quite bring himself to right now. "Don't worry, I'll bring Inuyasha back safe."

She left, and Souta watched as she quickly disappeared. "Don't worry," Hojo said again, patting Souta's shoulder. "They'll all be fine."

"Of course they will," Souta said. "Kagome's amazing!"

* * *

Tracking the fire truck wasn't all that difficult. All Inuyasha and Sensei had to do was follow the trail of wrecked cars it left in its wake.

Wrecked, _empty_ cars. That little detail worried Inuyasha to no end. There weren't even any signs of blood from injuries that anyone riding in those cars should have sustained. It was like anyone in the path of the fire truck just…vanished.

They were definitely dealing with a demon, though what kind could do something like this Inuyasha didn't have a clue.

But even if following the fire truck was easy, catching up to it was something else entirely. The fire truck simply went faster than they did.

"How are we going to catch up with this thing?" Inuyasha grumbled as they rounded a corner, and then suddenly the fire truck was there, waiting for them. The windshield of the truck exploded and the creature inside sort of poured out onto the pavement. Its face was a wooden Noh mask with a jewel shard embedded in the forehead, and its body was a black, jello-like blob. Then the smell hit Inuyasha and he almost gagged; the creature reeked of rotting meat.

"A body," it said in a hollow voice that wasn't really male or female, "I need a living body!"

"I think I know why all those cars were empty," Sensei said grimly.

Inuyasha glanced between Sensei and the creepy Noh mask and put two and two together. He blanched. "All those people…" They were dead now, because of this thing.

Its painted eyes seemed to focus on him. "The jewel shards; give them to me!"

It launched itself at Inuyasha, moving much faster than he'd expected it to. Before Inuyasha could react, Sensei was in front of him, sword drawn and slashing through the air. The Noh mask reeled back, a deep horizontal scratch on its face.

"That blow should have cut it in half," Sensei growled.

"It has a jewel shard in its forehead," Inuyasha told him. "That makes it more durable; regular weapons probably won't work against it."

Sensei spared a moment to glare at him. "You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?"

"I didn't think about it earlier!" Inuyasha protested.

The Noh mask lunged at them again, and they were forced to dodge in different directions. The Noh mask landed in between them and then turned to face Inuyasha again. "I must have the jewel shards," it said. "I must have a living body!"

It dove at Inuyasha who lashed out defensively with his staff. The staff made contact with the mask and there was a flash of pink light. The mask recoiled, the left half of its face blackened. Inuyasha braced himself for another attack, hoping the surge of spiritual power hadn't been a onetime thing, but there was a sudden blur of red and silver, and a popping sound, and then the Noh mask was hitting the ground in pieces. The mask and its body disintegrated, leaving only a small shard of the Shikon Jewel on the ground, which Inuyasha immediately scooped up.

Inuyasha looked to the side and saw Kagome where she had landed lightly, the Tetsusaiga still in one hand. "What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're welcome."

Inuyasha flushed a little. "Yeah, thanks, but how did you even know to come?"

"Souta called me through the well," Kagome said. "He jumped down but couldn't get through, but I could still hear his voice."

Inuyasha was amazed that Souta had had the guts to try to jump down the well, but also really relieved that he hadn't actually been able to get through. Sensei strode forward then, his sword now sheathed, gaining both Inuyasha and Kagome's attention. He eyed Kagome with a look that Inuyasha recognized, and he could easily guess what was coming. "Sloppy," Sensei growled.

Kagome blinked at him. "Um, what?"

"Your form," Sensei said. "It's sloppy. Have you ever even used a sword before?"

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha, looking completely lost. Inuyasha just grinned at her in encouragement. "Not really," she admitted.

"I thought as much," Sensei said. He grabbed her wrist so he could adjust her grip on the hilt of her sword. "Hold it like this for better control, and use both hands. Widen your stance; if you stand like that enemies will easily knock you over." He stepped back out of the way and nodded. "Much better. Try a swing now."

Kagome did as he said and Inuyasha could see the difference that just having a proper stance made in her swing. "Oh, wow," Kagome said. "Thank you for the help."

Sirens sounded in the distance, but were quickly drawing closer. "Perhaps we should leave before we have to answer uncomfortable questions," Sensei said.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Inuyasha said.

Sensei led the way through a nearby back alley, and soon they were several streets over. "By the way," Inuyasha said, realizing the two should be formally introduced, "Kagome, this is Sensei. Sensei, this is Kagome."

Sensei snorted. "I do have a name you know."

Inuyasha was so used to just calling the man Sensei, he normally didn't even think about using his actual name. "Oh, um –"

Sensei waved a hand in dismissal. "It's fine if she calls me Sensei."

"It's an honor to meet you," Kagome said politely.

Sensei nodded. "Likewise."

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha. "Is your shoulder okay? You didn't strain your injury in the fight, did you?"

Sensei stopped walking and whirled on Inuyasha, his black eyes snapping with fury. "You're hurt and you _didn't tell me_?"

Inuyasha blanched. It had been a very long time since he'd seen Sensei this angry. "It isn't that bad!" he protested.

"Have you even been to a doctor yet?" he growled.

"Um, not in this era…"

Sensei took a menacing step towards him. "I was going to go this afternoon," Inuyasha quickly said, "but obviously I haven't had time!"

"We're going to a doctor, now," Sensei growled.

"But I need to get back to the house," Inuyasha protested. "I left Hojo there with Souta, but Souta's probably worried sick."

"I can go tell him you're okay," Kagome quickly volunteered.

"Do that," Sensei said without giving Inuyasha a chance to reply. Kagome sent Inuyasha an apologetic look and then jumped up onto the roof of the building they were beside and took off back towards the shrine. "Now," Sensei said, "are you going to walk or do I have to drag you?"

Knowing that Sensei was fully capable and willing to enact his threat, Inuyasha grumbled, "I'll walk."

They walked in silence and a few minutes later they arrived at a small clinic. The sign on the door said it was closed, which was hardly surprising since it was now sunset. Even so, Sensei didn't even hesitate before going up to the door and banging on it. "Haruki, open up!" he yelled.

A moment later the door opened to reveal a man in a white doctor's coat. He was a few inches shorter than Sensei but still taller than Inuyasha, with a lean build, short cut black hair, and wide brown eyes. "I keep office hours for a reason, you know," the doctor said.

"I know, but my idiot student has a shoulder injury he's left untreated for days," Sensei said, pointing at Inuyasha with his thumb. "Do me a favor and have a look?"

"I didn't leave it untreated!" Inuyasha protested. "I just haven't had a chance to see an actual doctor yet…"

Dr. Haruki sighed. "Fine, come on in." He led them through a small waiting room into his office. "Have a seat and take off your shirt," he ordered Inuyasha as he washed his hands and pulled on some rubber gloves.

Inuyasha sat on the examining table as ordered and unbuttoned the shirt of his school uniform revealing his bandaged shoulder. Dr. Haruki undid the bandage with the ease of long practice. "How did you sustain the injury?" he asked.

_I got stabbed by an evil toad demon's tongue._

Right, that would go over so well.

"I tripped," Inuyasha said.

Dr. Haruki paused in his examination to stare at him. "You tripped," he repeated, disbelief pouring off of his tone. Behind the doctor Inuyasha could see Sensei roll his eyes. "And landed on what, exactly, to cause this injury?"

"I landed on a sharp rock," Inuyasha said.

The doctor sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. It isn't like I'm trying to help you or anything."

"How is it?" Sensei asked.

"Not as bad as it could be," Dr. Haruki replied. "He's kept it from getting infected at least, which is good. As long as he doesn't strain his shoulder it should heal well, but he is going to have a small scar."

Well, a scar wasn't a big deal; given what Inuyasha was doing, he'd probably end up with a few more of them. The doctor applied some strong smelling medicine on the injury and bandaged it again.

"How much do I owe you?" Inuyasha asked as he buttoned his shirt again.

"My receptionist handles the money, not me," Dr. Haruki said. "Since she's gone for the day, you don't need to worry about it."

Inuyasha was grateful for the man's generosity, partially because he didn't really have money on himself at the moment to pay the man anyway. He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you."

Dr. Haruki dismissed his thanks with a wave of his hand. "It's nothing really."

Then Inuyasha remembered how Ms. Sato had asked him to bring in a doctor's note. This was probably the best, and only, chance he was going to get to do so. "Um, Dr. Haruki, may I ask one more favor?" Inuyasha asked, trying to be extra polite. Sensei noticed the effort and raised an eyebrow as if to ask what exactly he was up to.

"I don't promise to say yes, but you can ask," Dr. Haruki said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Could you possible write my school a note saying I was sick with the flu for the past week and a half?" Inuyasha asked.

"Since I haven't treated you for that, no," Dr. Haruki said. "I'm not in the habit of helping kids skip school."

Inuyasha bristled a little at the kid comment, but he couldn't really argue with the man given he'd just treated his injury for free.

"Do me a favor then, and write him the note," Sensei said. Inuyasha looked at him in surprise, and then realized that since Sensei knew where he'd been he must have realized why Inuyasha wanted the note.

Dr. Haruki narrowed his eyes. "I assume you have a good reason for asking this."

"I do," Sensei said, but he didn't elaborate further.

Dr. Haruki sighed. "Fine. But you owe me for this." He scribbled the note out on a piece of stationary and handed it to Inuyasha.

"Thanks," Inuyasha said again.

"Really don't mention it," the doctor said as he showed them out.

After they had left, Sensei asked, "How did you really get that injury?"

"I was stabbed by a demon toad's tongue," Inuyasha said.

Sensei stared at him.

"Long story," he mumbled.

Sensei sighed. "Does your friend have anyone to teach her how to use that sword of hers?"

"No," Inuyasha said. "Most people in the Feudal Era don't want anything to do with her since she's a half demon."

"Bring her to the dojo tomorrow on your way to school," Sensei said. "I'll expect you to do so every day that you're in this time for school, understand?"

Inuyasha perked up. "Really, you'll train her?"

Sensei snorted. "It would be a crime not to train someone who so obviously doesn't have a clue what they're doing."

Soon they parted ways, and Inuyasha made it back to the shrine. "Inuyasha!" Souta yelled running to him. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am," Inuyasha said. "It'll take more than a demonic mask to kill me. Is Hojo still here?"

Souta shook his head. "No, he had to get home when Kagome showed up."

Inuyasha nodded. That was pretty much what he'd expected, and he hoped that Hojo didn't get in trouble for staying out so late after school without warning his parents.

"Well," Kagome said, "I'd better head back. I'm sure Shippo is worried about us, and I need to let him know we're all right."

"Okay," Inuyasha said. "Kagome, I spoke with Sensei and he agreed to train you."

Her face lit up with a smile. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "He wants you to start tomorrow, so you need to be here at about um…" Inuyasha trailed off for a moment, thinking. They hadn't used the same system for telling time five hundred years ago as was now used in the present. So telling her to show up at 6:45 AM would mean nothing to her. "Be here just after sunrise," he finally said.

Kagome nodded. "I will. Thanks, Inuyasha."

"No problem," Inuyasha said, and then she left.

* * *

It was with some relief that Kagome arrived back in her normal time. Inuyasha's era seemed like a fascinating place, but it was also completely alien to everything she was used to. "I suppose I'll have to get used to it," Kagome mused. "After all, it looks like I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time there."

She walked back to the village. When she had answered Souta's plea for help, she had left Shippo with Kaede. Even though she was eager to tell Shippo that everything was fine now, she found her steps slowing as she neared Kaede's hut. Kagome didn't really enjoy being around Kaede now; being in the woman's presence only served to remind Kagome of the fact that Kikyo was dead, and everyone except Inuyasha thought she was responsible.

_Kikyo was my dear friend,_ Kagome thought. _I would never have hurt her. But who did? And why would they want her to think I was responsible?_

Kagome couldn't think of anyone who'd put together such an elaborate plot or what their reasons for doing so might have been. Given all this had happened fifty years ago, she supposed it was likely that she would never find out.

She entered Kaede's hut and found Shippo sleeping while Kaede sat up and sipped on a cup of tea. "Is everything alright with Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

Kagome nodded. "It is now. There was some sort of cursed Noh mask with a jewel shard attacking people."

"I see," Kaede said. They were silent for a moment and then Kaede spoke again. "Kagome, I believe I owe you an apology."

"You do?" Kagome asked, surprised.

Kaede nodded. "I do. I have been suspicious of you and held you responsible for my sister's death; however, after much thought I have decided to believe you when you say you did not hurt Kikyo or attack my village."

Kagome's legs suddenly felt weak, and she had to sit.

"When I knew you as a child, you were always a gentle person. Kikyo never felt you were a threat to us then, and all you have done since you've been released is help us now. I do not know who killed my sister, or why they wanted everyone to believe it was you, but from now on I will trust you."

Kagome had to blink back tears from her eyes. "Thank you."


End file.
